


Time is a funny thing

by Fletcher



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Royalty, Angst, M/M, Romance, Time Travel
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-08-09
Updated: 2013-08-20
Packaged: 2017-12-22 17:21:55
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 21,595
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/915973
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fletcher/pseuds/Fletcher
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The last thing Merlin expected, was to wake up next to Prince Arthur Pendragon. Especially since he died three years ago.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

The last thing Merlin expected, was to wake up next to Prince Arthur Pendragon. Especially since he died three years ago.

It couldn’t really be him, that would be madness. He was dead, really dead. The whole country went into mourning when Arthur Pendragon died. The King never recovered, Princess Morgana became a shell of herself and every teenage girl cried for her favourite crush. Merlin was likewise devastated, he even had to take down his poster since it made him sad every time he looked at it. But he eventually recovered so he really didn’t understand why he was suddenly having this really vivid dream. Because this really had to be a dream, there was no other possible explanation.

“Ouch,” he cursed, that slap certainly felt real. The sheets felt real as well, he could even smell coffee nearby. Part of him was wondering if Arthur felt real as well. But what if he suddenly woke up while Merlin was feeling him up? Could you go to prison for molesting the crown prince?

Now he was being silly, it wasn’t really the prince next to him. Impossible, remember.

The question was really why he was dreaming about him all of the sudden. He didn’t do anything unusual last night. He went to work, got home, had dinner with Will and then he went to sleep. That was a description of most of his days since he broke up with Lance.

That was it, Lance. He had to be the reason for all of this. Since Merlin couldn’t have his real knight in shining armour, his subconscious created him one. Who didn’t want to fall asleep with prince charming?

It was time to wake up now, he couldn’t miss work or Gaius would really kill him this time. He tried to slap himself again but inadvertently hit Arthur who was starting to wake up now. Shit, not good.

Obviously this was a nightmare so Merlin decided to take the safe route: run. He jumped out of the enormously comfortable bed (it was seriously ridiculous), and noticed for the first time that he was wearing his pyjamas. The ones he put on yesterday, that was oddly specific.

“Who are you?” Prince Arthur asked, still sleepy. He seemed to wake up quickly though. “How did you get in here? In my bed?”

“I have no idea, but I was just about to leave,” Merlin said quickly.

“You’re not going anywhere until you tell me who you are,” Arthur demanded.

“I’m nobody, really. My name is Merlin Emrys and I don’t know how I got here but I’m leaving.”

“Are you deaf? You are staying here until you manage to tell me the truth.”

Merlin was starting to get frustrated, why wasn’t he waking up? “I am telling you the truth, I went to bed last night and woke up next to a dead guy.”

Arthur was looking at him like he had grown another head. “A dead guy? Have you killed someone or are you threatening me?”

“No, of course not. I meant you of course,” Merlin muttered.

“You really are completely mad, aren’t you. Let me guess, the president of my fan club. You thought ‘if I can’t have him, no one else can either.’ I know your kind,” Arthur scoffed.

“My kind! And I’m definitely not a member of your fan club,” Merlin protested, “I had one poster which I took down.” The last part had to be emphasized.

“Does one of your parents work here? Is that how you got in?”

“I don’t need my mummy or daddy to take me anywhere, I’m an adult.”

For the first time, Merlin saw a hint of the famous Pendragon smirk. Arthur gave him an careful once-over. “Are you sure about that? You look twelve.”

“I’m twenty,” Merlin said affronted.

Now Arthur was laughing. “There is no way you’re twenty, fifteen at the most. I don’t know why I didn’t realize this before, you’re the cook’s son. You look just like her. Next time, please stay in the kitchen and don’t crawl in my bed, no matter how tempting it looks.”

“I guess I’ll just go tell my mum we’re banished from the palace,” Merlin blurted out.

“Are you mad? Rhetorical question,” he clarified. “Her cakes are amazing, I’m not giving that up because you’re a bit slow.”

“Well I have to go now, Majesty. But I’ll pass on the compliment.”

“You do that. Oh, and Merlin, nice pyjamas.”

“Thank you, Majesty,” Merlin replied calmly and finally left the royal bedroom.

What was he going to do now? This was not a dream, that was becoming very obvious. It felt too real for that, it just was real. But if it wasn’t a dream, what was happening? Where was he? Maybe he never got home last night, he got hit by a bus and was currently in a coma. That was about the only rational explanation left.

Whatever happened, he had no idea what to do. Maybe he should check out the kitchen and that woman Arthur was talking about.

Maybe she could give him a cake.

*

He got a couple of suspicious looks walking around in his pyjamas. Fortunately, when he went into one of the rooms, it turned out to be the laundry room. He was able to change into something more acceptable for a palace. Merlin had to get directions from three different to locate the kitchen. He had also received some shifty eyes from a couple of security people. But for the most part, everyone seemed to assume that once you’re in, you’re safe.

He had no idea what to expect when he entered the kitchen, but it certainly wasn’t his mother.

“Merlin, you’re finally here. Why did I get you a mobile? If you’re not capable of using it,” she sighed, it was clearly not the first time she recited this speech. “While you’re here, help me with these cakes.”

Merlin felt like he was in bizarro world. “Mum, what are you doing here? You’re a nurse.”

“Has Will been slipping you mushrooms, I’ll kill that boy one day. Are your pupils dilated?” she questioned him and grabbed his face to study it carefully.

“Mum, stop it. I’m not on drugs, but please tell me how long you’ve worked here.”

“You’re seriously worrying me. I’ve been here for three months, ever since the king visited my restaurant and liked my food so much that he offered me a job. Now explain what has happened to you,” she said sternly.

“I honestly have no idea, I’m a bit scared, mum.”

“That makes two of us, let’s take you to Gaius so he can check you out.”

“But he’s a vet,” Merlin said.

“Oh god, no time to waste,” she decided and basically dragged him away.

*

Apparently Gaius wasn’t a vet, but a people doctor now. And he seemed very concerned about him.

“Merlin, do you have any idea where you are and why?” Gaius asked, checking his pupils.

“I am clearly in the palace and I just woke up here.”

“Where did you wake up?” Gaius inquired.

“Um, in Prince Arthur’s bed,” Merlin said reluctantly.

His mother’s head nearly exploded. “What! You are not permitted to sleep with the crown prince, have you lost your mind!”

“Clearly I have. But we didn’t have sex, I just woke up there. I was just as surprised as he was.”

“So you don’t remember anything about your life?” Gaius pressed.

“I know who you and mum are. You’re just different from my mum and Gaius.”

“Gaius, I think we may need a psychiatrist,” Hunith suggested rather desperately.

Gaius looked doubtful and said carefully, “I don’t think they would be able to help us. How old are you, Merlin?”

“Twenty.”

“You’re seventeen!” his mother shouted. “My poor son, what is wrong with you!”

“Hunith, could you leave us for a minute. I’d like to talk to Merlin by myself,” Gaius said.

“Fine, but if you can’t help him, I’m calling in reinforcements,” she warned him.

“I believe you, Merlin,” he said when the door was closed. “You’re not the boy I know, there is something different about you, even if you look the same.”

“I don’t belong here,” Merlin explained, hoping that Gaius would believe him. “You’re a vet, I work as your assistant, I live with Will and I just lost the love of my life.”

“Well the Merlin who does belong here is seventeen, goes to school, is best friends with Will and I think you have a boyfriend.”

“What’s his name?” Merlin asked eagerly. Could it be?

“Lance or something.”

Merlin felt enormously relieved. “He’s my boyfriend as well or at least he was. Do you have any idea why I am here.”

“I’m sure you were brought here for a reason,” Gaius said mysteriously.

The last thing Merlin needed, was more mysteries. “What do you mean with brought? Can’t I just go to sleep and wake up to my normal life,” he suggested hopefully.

“No, it doesn’t work like that. I think someone went through a lot of trouble to bring you here. They must have used magic.”

“Don’t be silly, there is no such thing as magic,” Merlin protested.

“It has died out mostly, but there are still some remnants of it and someone must have gotten their hands on one. It’s the only explanation I can think off,” Gaius said very seriously.

Merlin knew from experience that he wasn’t the type to joke around. “What am I supposed to do? It’s not like someone dropped me in the past, this is like a different universe. Unless of course... what’s the date today?”

“June 30th.”

“Arthur dies July 30th. Do you think it’s possible to change a major event like that?”

Gaius was speechless, but when he recovered, he asked, “Arthur dies.. How?”

“There was an accident, maybe I shouldn’t talk about this. Couldn’t it clash with my timeline, that’s why they always say in Doctor Who.”

“This is not Doctor Who,” Gaius chided.

“It might as well be, I travelled through time, back to my seventeen-year-old body. I didn’t particularly miss it.”

“You did wake up in his bed so it’s likely that this is about Arthur,” Gaius considered. “But I don’ t understand how you could change anything about his destiny.

“Even if I do manage to save Arthur somehow, he’ll still be dead in my world. He’s been dead for three years.”

“What if this is your world, but slightly modified,” Gaius suggested.

“Are you saying that someone is so desperate to save Arthur’s life they sent me back in time and actually changed mine. That is a bit over the top, don’t you think? Crap, what if this is my life now, what if I can never get back,” Merlin suddenly realized. “They can’t just take my life, they’re not allowed to do that.”

“I’m afraid it will be exceedingly difficult to find out who allowed this. Listen, Merlin, it’s probably for the best that we tell your mother you suffered a concussion last night and that’s why you are behaving this bizarrely. A slight case of amnesia isn’t that rare. In the meantime, I will study every book I can find in the royal library for some explanation about how this could possibly happen.”

“So I should just start living 17-year-old Merlin’s life?”

“Do you see any other option?” Gaius asked him. “The concept of time travel isn’t that popular with most people.”

“True,” Merlin agreed. “It’s better than being locked up in an asylum. Maybe this isn’t such a terrible life, this Merlin still has his Lancelot.”

“Merlin, I don’t think your love life is a priority at this moment. There are more urgent matters.”

“I have to integrate in my new life, what better way is there than seeing my boyfriend? I’ll see you later, Gaius. Please reassure my mum that I’m not dying any time soon.”

And off he went because forget Arthur, he could save his relationship with Lance.

*

Searching for Lance had become his mission, he decided to look for clues in ‘his’ room. It would be interesting to search the place anyhow, he had to find out what other differences existed between him and other Merlin. Of course the fact that his mum and Gaius were now working in the palace seemed to be the biggest one, and the fact that he was seventeen again. But what about his personality? This Merlin still had a boyfriend, he was doing something right.

He was able to find his room with the help of one of the maids who seemed to recognize him immediately. That was going to be a struggle, maybe he and Gaius should be running with the amnesia story for a while. Luckily, Arthur seemed to have no memory of him whatsoever, but why would he?

His room was creepy, mostly because it was basically a replica of his own room when he was this age. Other question: why did he live in the palace? Did Uther need his mum’s cake day and night or something.

He did find what he was looking for in the first place: Lance’s phone number. Before he called, he looked at the pictures of them hanging everywhere in the room. It seemed their history was quite similar to the one he was familiar with. He had been friends with him since they turned twelve and they officially became boyfriends when they were sixteen or one year ago now.

Merlin thought they were going to be together forever but then Lance broke up with him three months ago. Part of him still couldn’t believe it, it was wrong. They were Lance and Merlin, that was how it was supposed to be. Lance didn’t seem to agree after he met that horrible girl.

He called him, it was time to set things right. “Hello, it’s me Merlin.”

“Hello, sweetheart, it’s good to hear your voice,” Lance said. “You should have called me last night.”

It had been ages since Lance last used pet names for him. “I’m sorry, I was wondering if you could meet me in the palace.”

“What a coincidence, I’m already here. In fact, one of the people who works here helped me get in. I thought it was about time I saw the place where my boyfriend lives. You’ve been here for three months already.”

“Well I guess that’s convenient. Can he help you to my room or should we meet up somewhere?”

“No, Gwen knows where your room is.”

Merlin hung up abruptly. Apparently it didn’t matter what world he lived in, Gwen was destined to ruin it.

*

There was a knock on the door, Merlin had no choice but to answer it. Lance knew he was there, he wouldn’t buy a sudden illness. However, he could use the concussion Gaius invented for him, make him a bit concerned about him. Maybe then he wouldn’t fall madly in love with that Gwen.

Seriously, what were the odds of a different Lancelot also falling for Gwen and dumping Merlin? Probably pretty high. But he wouldn’t go down without a fight this time.

“Lance, come in.”

“Hello, babe, the room looks great.” Lance gave him a quick kiss. “Don’t know why you didn’t invite me here earlier.”

“Thanks, but I have to warn you that I’m not really in top condition. Had a bit of a fall last night, Gaius diagnosed me with a concussion and amnesia.”

Lance looked terribly concerned. Good.

“Are you sure you’re alright? Shouldn’t you go to the hospital to get properly checked out?”

“Gaius doesn’t think that’s necessary,” Merlin assured him. “I don’t have a headache and my memories should be completely restored in a few days.”

“So I’m guessing you don’t remember why I’m here? You see, it’s our anniversary and I thought it would be amazing to celebrate it here. I asked your mum to cook something for us.”

“Sorry, I forgot,” Merlin apologized. “But I don’t really feel like celebrating in this place, why don’t we go out? There is this Italian place we could check out.” Merlin’s aim was to get him out of the palace.

Lance didn’t take the bait. “Since when do you eat Italian? Besides your mom is an amazing cook and we get to use one of the dining rooms. What could be memorable than dining at the palace?”

“It’s really not that special when you live here,” Merlin remarked.

Lance looked slightly hurt. “I’m sorry, I thought you’d be excited. You told me that you didn’t feel at ease here and I thought this would help a bit.”

Why was it that Lance always managed to make Merlin feel guilty with one look. “I’m the one who should say sorry. There is nothing wrong with your idea, I think I’m still a bit messed up because of that concussion. We should totally do this, it’s a great idea.”

Actually, he thought it was a horrible idea, the more time Lance spent in the palace, the more time there was for him to fall for Gwen. He should be trying to keep them apart for as long as possible. If he couldn’t have Lance, he might as well help teenage Merlin.

“Great,” Lance smiled, as cheerful as ever, “maybe in the meantime you can give me a tour of this place, I have to admit I’m a bit curious. It’s not every day you could run into Prince Arthur.”

Once again, Merlin had no choice but to agree and conclude his life would always suck. No matter what happened.

*

It was a bit hard to give a tour of something you had no idea about yourself. But it turned out that wasn’t a problem since apparently Gwen worked here as a guide this summer. Lance beamed and told him how lucky they were. Merlin officially wanted to disappear in smoke.

While Gwen was busy explaining which king was responsible for this horribly decorated office, Merlin felt someone glaring at him. He was starting to get the feeling he was completely going crazy, until Prince Arthur suddenly jumped in front of him.

“Are you still stalking me?” Arthur asked, although he didn’t sound upset, more intrigued.

“I am not, I happen to live here as well and my boyfriend was curious about the palace. So Gwen was kind enough to give us a tour.”

“Ah yes, Gwen is always so kind,” Arthur said, then he gave Gwen a condescending look. “Nice uniform, couldn’t find any orphans to help?”

Gwen seemed to shrink a few sizes. “I’m only here because Morgana told me about this job,” she explained. “She also told me you were in Spain this summer.”

“Well Morgana talks a lot of crap. But before you make yourself a martyr, I have no issues with your presence. This is a big place, it’s important to have good help. I’m sure you’ll do an excellent job, you are very motivated after all. How is your father, still hanging in there?”

Gwen seemed like she was ready to burst in tears, Merlin actually felt sorry for her. He didn’t particularly like her, but no one deserved to be treated this way. Before he could jump to her defence, Lance threw Arthur a nasty glare.

“What gives you the right to talk this way to this girl? I think you should apologize.”

“Do you now?” Arthur laughed. “Have you forgotten where you are, Merlin’s boyfriend? This is my home and I decide how I talk to the people who work for my family. But maybe I should give you a quick word of advice, before you decide to become Gwen’s latest knight in shining armour. You’re not the first.”

Lance punched him. He actually punched the crown prince.

Merlin was completely in shock, Gwen stood there frozen as well and Arthur was on the ground. He was actually laughing.

“Oh, you’ll pay for that. Security,” he shouted. Two guards immediately came running.

“Arrest this idiot,” Arthur ordered, “he thought it was a good idea to punch the crown prince in his own palace.”

The guards nodded and cuffed Lance. Merlin’s boyfriend was officially being arrested for punching the crown prince. Thank God, he hadn’t touched him earlier.

“Arthur, please don’t do this,” Gwen started begging. “He was just trying to help me.”

“By punching someone? You should try to find a knight in shining armour with some brains next time. Because you won’t be seeing this one for a while,” he said meanly, like he wanted to twist the knife a bit further.

What on earth had Gwen ever done to him? Did she steal his boyfriend too?

“Prince Arthur, this really isn’t necessary,” Merlin tried to reason with him. “I can assure you that this is the first time I’ve ever seen Lance fight with anyone. He was just shocked at how you were treating our guide. Trust me, he doesn’t know Gwen at all. Actually, he’s here to celebrate our anniversary.”

“How sweet,” Arthur grinned. “You know I’ve actually changed my mind. You don’t have to arrest him,” he informed the guards. Then he looked at Gwen and said, “You’re fired.”

“You can’t do this to me,” she exclaimed.

“Of course I can, I’m the crown prince. I’m sure Morgana will help you find another job. But first, I need you to leave and Lance can join you.”

“I’ll go,” Gwen conceded and Lance nodded as well.

“We will all go,” Merlin said. “Lance really is sorry,” he added, since his boyfriend seemed to have lost his tongue.

“Oh, you’re not going anywhere, Merlin,” Arthur said. “There are consequences to hitting a prince and you’ll have to deal with them.”

“What? I’m not the one who punched you, why should I pay for anything?”

“Because I’m not in the mood to deal with young delinquents, I only do that once a year. Besides you live here, which is very convenient for what I’ve got planned.”

“Planned?” Merlin asked, scared already.

“Don’t worry, I’ll explain everything in a minute after my unwanted guests are gone.”

Gwen walked away, with Lance. His plan to keep them apart wasn’t going very well. Stupid prince.

“So what do you want from me then?” Merlin asked, irritated by the fact that he wasn’t able to walk away.

“My assistant George recently quit to get married or something. All very dull like he was, but it does leave me without an assistant. Since it takes a while to find someone efficient enough, I think you would be a decent enough replacement for the summer.”

“You want me to work as your assistant? You must be joking.”

“I have a very well developed sense of humour, you can generally tell when I’m joking. You can start tomorrow morning, can’t have you working on your anniversary. Such a special day must be celebrated. Oh, you can still sleep in your own bed, don’t worry.”

Merlin felt like he was supposed to shout, instead he was completely speechless. What was he supposed to say? Arthur gave him another smirk and walked away.

Merlin was really missing his own boring life.

*

“You have to help me, mum. He can’t do this to me,” Merlin pleaded.

“Of course he can, son. He’s the freaking prince! I don’t understand how you got into this mess in the first place. Lance is usually such a softie, when did he start punching people?”

“He’s not a softie, he just has a kind heart,” Merlin defended his boyfriend. “Arthur really was horrible to that Gwen girl.”

“You don’t seem to like her much either,” his mother observed. “I don’t care what he said to her, it was none of Lance’s business. I don’t know if I want you to date someone with such a temper.”

“Come on, it’s Lance, he never gets into trouble, this was an exception.”

“Maybe, but he was supposed to come here for you, not punch other people. I’m more concerned about how you’re doing. Are you feeling alright? It was only this morning you thought I was a nurse. Sod Gaius, I’m taking you to the hospital.”

“No,” Merlin hastily said, “that won’t be necessary. I’m fine, just a couple of minor details missing, but I don’t need to see another doctor.”

“Well then there is nothing stopping you from being Arthur’s assistant,” his mother said.

Why was it that she always seemed to outsmart him? He had come in here asking for help and now she seemed to think Lance was a violent criminal and he was supposed to be Arthur’s assistant.

That coma theory was starting to look tempting again. Fuck magic.

*

“Can’t you do anything to help me, Gaius? There has to be something,” Merlin said, rather desperate.

They were sitting in the library, where Gaius had been doing research the entire time. Lance had already sent him a text, saying he was sorry to cause so much trouble. That was the Lance he knew.

“I’m sorry to disappoint you, Merlin, but it won’t be that easy. It could take weeks until I find something to right this situation.”

“Weeks,” Merlin repeated, feeling even more depressed than before. “I can’t spend weeks being Arthur’s servant. He’ll probably make me polish his shoes or something. He still sees me as the freak who crawled into his bed.”

“I really am sorry, but there are literally thousands of books in this library.”

“Are you telling me that the royal library is stuffed with books about magic, that sounds a bit unlikely.”

“It is actually. Queen Ygraine was intrigued by it so several sections of the library are dedicated to magic,” Gaius explained.

“I know you’re doing the best you can and I’m really grateful as well. It’s just a bit scary that last night I was watching EastEnders and now my own life has turned into a soap.”

“Maybe this was the way it was supposed to happen, as Arthur’s assistant you can stop this accident he’s going to have.”

“I don’t think Arthur is going to take me along on one of his road trips. I’m being paid to be his assistant. At least I hope I’m being paid. Stupid Lance.”

“Normally you’re always so positive about him. Whatever he did, you have bigger concerns. Just keep an eye on Arthur,” Gaius said.

“I will,” Merlin agreed. “He might not be the nicest guy around but that doesn’t mean he deserves to die either. Plus, he’s a lot more attractive in real life.”

*

The next morning Merlin realized that he had no idea what he was supposed to do. It was about nine in the morning, he didn’t even know if Arthur was up already. He really didn’t want to visit his bedroom again, after the embarrassing incident yesterday. What was he supposed to do? His dilemma was solved when someone knocked on the door. When he opened the door, he saw Arthur standing in front of him.

“How are you doing, Merlin? Have you dumped that loser yet?”

“First of all, Lance is not a loser. Second, why would I dump him. All he did was take a stand against arrogant tossers.”

Arthur whistled. “You didn’t sound this aggressive yesterday. But then again since Lance is interested in Gwen, he clearly likes someone without an opinion.”

“What is your issue with Gwen? What did she do to you?”

“I don’t think I owe you an explanation,” Arthur said coldly.

“I don’t owe you anything either so stop commenting about my love life,” Merlin replied.

“You’re wrong about that, I talked to my father about this whole unfortunate situation and he thought this was a brilliant solution. Today, some of my friends are coming over, you can assist us.”

Merlin was starting to understand why Lance punched him. “So I’m supposed to entertain your little friends.”

“George never had issues doing what I wanted.”

“Well, I am not George.”

Arthur eyed him appreciatively and said, “Clearly.”

“Do you want to be hit with a sexual harassment suit? Or maybe I should sell my story to the tabloids.”

“You’re so weird, Merlin,” Arthur said. “But that does remind me that you still need to sign some papers. I know how much you love to talk. Just visit the office later.”

“What office?” Merlin asked confused.

“Are you serious? Oh right, Gaius did mention something about some minor memory loss. Hopefully your brain isn’t too damaged.”

“When did you talk to Gaius?”

“I hope you realize that Gaius is not your private doctor. He works for my father and he mentioned it to him. You are fine right? We don’t want any lawsuits.”

“Thanks for the overwhelming concern but I’m fine. I won’t forget your name quickly.”

“That’s great news, now come on, they’re probably waiting in the sitting room already.”

Once they arrived in the sitting room, Merlin could tell that Arthur’s friends weren’t the type to get a summer job. They all looked incredibly rich, except for the one with the amazing shampoo hair.

“Everyone, this is my new George,” Arthur announced.

Arthur’s friends started to inspect him, he really was back in school.

“He looks a lot better than the previous model,” the guy with the amazing hair said.

“Shut up, Gwaine,” Arthur said. “His name is Merlin by the way. But I think George is an improvement.”

“I disagree,” Merlin said. “So what is it that I’m supposed to do here?”

“You can start with fetching us a few drinks. It’s still early so we can start with some juice. We’ve got a busy day ahead of us.”

“Really?” Merlin asked sarcastically.

“I like him,” Gwaine said, “a lot feistier than the previous one.”

“I’ll take that as a compliment,” Merlin said doubtfully.

“In fact, Arthur, it’s very impolite to not introduce us properly. Weren’t you raised to be a prince?” Gwaine teased. “I’m Gwaine, the other gentlemen are Leon, Percy, Owain and Tristan. They are all lovely, except Arthur of course.”

Merlin couldn’t help but smile, he was starting to like this guy. “Nice to meet you all.”

“You can stop making such an effort to be charming, Gwaine,” Arthur said. “He already has a boyfriend, one with a violent streak. That is how he became my new assistant in the first place.

“What happened?” Leon asked, looking more serious than the rest of them.

“He punched me, can you believe it? It was seriously pathetic, but he’s gone now and Merlin is paying for his crimes.”

“That doesn’t really seem fair,” Leon said.

“Don’t start Leon, your lectures get boring after a while. That Lance guy is lucky that I’m not pressing charges against him. Fetch those drinks, Merlin.”

“Yes, sir,” Merlin said. He was really hoping Gaius was a quick reader.

*


	2. Chapter 2

Merlin had always presumed that the crown prince led an incredibly busy life, this was clearly not the case. Arthur spent the entire morning talking to his friends and apparently he was planning on doing just that for the rest of the day. No meeting orphans for this prince.

It didn’t help that Arthur seemed determined to make his life miserable. It appeared first impressions were very important and Merlin would always be the creepy stalker guy.

Fortunately the rest of his friends were a lot nicer, especially Leon and Gwaine. Perhaps Gwaine liked Merlin a bit too much, he kept trying to flirt with him. It was quite embarrassing since Merlin was a horrible flirt. Well he didn’t exactly have any experience, Lance was not the flirty type and he was the only boy Merlin ever had eyes for.

Or maybe that was just the way Gwaine interacted with people. Either way, these people were very different from his own friends. He didn’t think current Will was much different from his own Will, he had a certain uniqueness that couldn’t be copied. Maybe Merlin should tell Will the truth, he might be the only person who would actually believe his story.

“Merlin,” Arthur shouted and snapped his fingers to get his attention. “I’m not paying you to daydream about your boyfriend. Find me my new watch, I have to show Owain what good taste looks like.”

“Of course,” Merlin said, “but may I remind you that you are not paying me at the moment. Although you’re free to change that at any time.”

“You’re hilarious, get me the watch, it’s somewhere in my room. You remember my room, right?” Arthur said, with the same mocking tone he always used when he talked to Merlin. Merlin felt like a walking joke when he was near Arthur.

“Vaguely,” he answered, quite truthfully. This palace was huge and he had no idea where to find Arthur’s bedroom. He couldn’t really ask Gwen for directions this time. But apparently word got out that he was Arthur’s latest slave and people were very helpful in giving him instructions to his room. Once he arrived in Arthur’s room, he discovered he wasn’t the only person looking for something.

He coughed and the other visitor turned around. It was Princess Morgana, she was even more beautiful in real life, a bit like Arthur. Merlin wasn’t sure how to address her, was he supposed to bow?

Fortunately, she was the one to speak first. “I’m sorry, I don’t think we’ve met, I’m Princess Morgana. Do you work here?”

“Yes,” he answered, feeling quite shy. “I actually work for your brother, Prince Arthur. My name is Merlin Emrys.”

“Oh right,” she said, like that explained everything. Not very surprising since the palace liked to gossip. Arthur had probably gloated about his new help.

“You’re Hunith’s son. Your mother is delightful, I’m glad we’ve finally met. You’ve lived here for a couple of months, haven’t you?”

“Yes, I am,” he answered, surprised she knew his mother. There were hundreds of servants running around here.

“It’s really good to meet you. But I do have to warn you about my brother,” she added. “He tends to be quite rash. A tad impulsive maybe, you might have to keep him out trouble sometimes. It’s important for him to have someone sensible around, he has good friends but they tend to follow his lead. Arthur has a way with people.”

Merlin thought to himself that he hadn’t noticed that. He was horrible to Lance, Gwen and him. Hmm, didn’t Arthur mention that Gwen was friends with Morgana.

“I’ll keep that in mind,” Merlin said. “Prince Arthur sent me here to search for his watch, you don’t happen to know where I could find it, Princess?”

“Ah yes, I’m the one who actually bought it for him. Although he probably didn’t mention that part.” She went to Arthur’s desk where she picked up the watch and handed it to Merlin. “Don’t forget what I said earlier, be careful.”

Merlin nodded, although he was quietly wondering why she seemed to give him so many warnings. Did she have a clue what was about to happen? As soon as he had a free moment, he would go find Gaius and tell him to put Morgana first on their suspect list.

*

It seemed like Arthur was capable of talking about himself for hours and hours. For some unknown reason, his friends managed to stay awake. Merlin found himself drifting at some points, especially when Arthur told his Ibiza story for the third time. He did manage to learn that it wasn’t easy for Arthur to leave the palace without being hounded by paparazzi. He had forgotten how much Prince Arthur hated the press. They were obsessed with him after Queen Ygraine died when he was a boy. Merlin had always felt sorry for him, he knew exactly how it felt to lose a parent. So logically he knew that Arthur didn’t have such an easy life, but it was hard to keep that in mind when he was so bloody rude to him.

Arthur didn’t ask anything, he barked orders. And the worst part was when he informed Merlin he had rented a club tonight to celebrate Percy’s birthday. Even though Percy’s birthday was two weeks away. Merlin was expected to attend anyway which meant there was no chance for him to meet up with Lance. He had sent a few texts but Lance seemed a bit subdued, especially when he compared his current texts to earlier ones.

What if he was already cheating on him with Gwen?

“Merlin, we’re going to a party, could you please stop looking like your cat just died,” Arthur said.

“Of course, sir,” Merlin said, overly polite because he knew it irritated Arthur. He seemed to like it when Merlin argued with him. George must have been really boring.

“Are you moping about your boyfriend, Merlin?” Arthur asked, with a huge smile on his face.

“Actually, I was thinking about poor Gwen. I hope the job hunt is going well.”

“No need to worry about that girl, she’ll manage just fine. You should be concerned about what I’m going to wear tonight. I want you to take everything red out of my wardrobe. I’m in the mood for red tonight.”

“Of course, sir,” Merlin said obediently.

Merlin started searching for everything that looked slightly red in Arthur’s closet when Arthur suddenly asked him to turn around.

“On second thought, find something for yourself. I don’t want to ridicule myself tonight. Lady Sophia is going to be there.”

“I will, sir,” Merlin said.

“And could you please stop the whole sir shit, it’s getting rather tiring. The last thing I need is a George clone. I know you’ve got a personality, Merlin, I suggest you find it soon.”

“I’ll do my best, sire,” Merlin said.

Arthur rolled his eyes and picked an outfit for him.

*

It was a bit weird wearing something that probably cost hundreds of pounds to a private party organised by Prince Arthur. Merlin had to remind himself that this was actually happening and it wasn’t just a dream or rather nightmare. But while Arthur was busy dancing on a table, he remembered Morgana’s warning to watch out for him.

He sneaked into the bathroom to call Gaius, it was almost midnight so he hoped that he hadn’t gone to sleep yet. It seemed that for once luck was on his side, Gaius picked up immediately.

“Merlin, is that you?” he asked.

“Yes, it is,” he confirmed. “Have you come up with something yet?” he asked eagerly.

“I’m afraid not, but I’ve made a lot of progress already.”

Merlin was afraid he was going to get that answer. “How much longer is it going to take?”

“I don’t know, I’ve already warned you that it could take weeks.”

“No, you can’t be serious. I’m not going to survive that long, especially if I have to watch Lance cheat on me again.”

“What are you talking about, Merlin?” Gaius asked.

Oops, he had said that out loud. Crap. “Nothing, it was just a misunderstanding between us, it’s nothing really. I have to go now, I left Arthur dancing on a table. Better check he’s still standing.”

He hung up abruptly and stepped outside the toilet where he found Arthur watching him very carefully. He didn’t even appear to be that drunk. “So Lance cheated on you,” he said calmly.

“No,” Merlin denied immediately, “I don’t know what you overheard, but it was all a misunderstanding.”

“Did you find him with Gwen?” Arthur persisted.

“No, I didn’t,” Merlin repeated. “Like I just said, it’s nothing. I don’t think I owe you an explanation about our relationship.”

“I know you’re probably thinking that Gwen cheated on me and that’s why I’m so ‘mean’ to her.”

There was no way Merlin could deny that, that was exactly what he thought.

“I don’t owe you an explanation either,” Arthur continued. “But it’s not my heart that Gwen broke, it’s my sister’s.”

Merlin felt very confused all of the sudden.

“If this gets out, I will personally execute you. For some unknown reason, my sister is madly in love with Gwen. An unrequited love, but Gwen refuses to keep her distance. I’ve tried to pay her off, tried to bully her out of our home. Nothing sticks because my sister loves her too damn much. And I will do anything to protect my sister, Merlin. The only reason I’m telling you this, is because if your boyfriend hooks up with Gwen, it would solve a lot of my problems.”

“Are you asking me to break up with Lance so your sister can get over Gwen?”

“That was my original intention, yes. But even I know that’s quite an awful favour to ask. But I  do hope when Lance cheats on you...”

“When,” Merlin repeated furiously.

“I saw the way he was looking at her, we’re not talking about an “if” situation here, could you please tell me?”

“So now you’re asking me to come gossip with you _if_ the love of my life cheats on me with your archenemy!” Merlin tried to keep his cool but it was really hard when all he wanted to do, was bash Arthur’s stupid head in.

“Please, he’s hardly the love of your live,” Arthur scoffed. “You’re seventeen, you’ll have loads of boyfriends. My sister has been fixated on Gwen for years, I want her to have a girlfriend who genuinely likes her. Is it really that hard to grasp?”

“You know, in some ways it’s rather lovely how much you want to protect your sister, this is just not the right way to do it. You can’t use me or Lance. Wait a minute, is that the real reason you wanted me to become your assistant? So I would be too occupied to spend much time with Lance this summer, you bastard!”

“I’m still your crown prince, Merlin, you shouldn’t call me names. Unless you’re in my bed again, then you’re allowed to shout mine.”

Merlin was beyond pissed. “Stop it, I’m not in the mood for your Gwaine antics. You are such a prat! I can’t believe how you treat people just to get what you want. I feel sorry for Morgana, not because of the Gwen thing, but because she has such a horrible person as a brother!”

“Are you done shouting?” Arthur asked as calmly as ever, like they had just been discussing what they were drinking next.

“I don’t want to work for you anymore,” Merlin said.

“Life tends to be very unfair, believe me. I’m not letting you go.”

“What if I just don’t show up tomorrow? Are you going to get Lance arrested, not much chance of him falling for Gwen in prison.”

“I’ll make sure your mother is fired and Gaius.”

“You can’t do that,” Merlin uttered, bemused.

“Of course I can, but honestly I don’t want to. So I’m hoping you can agree with my plan. Don’t make me regret trusting you with this.”

“I am not breaking your trust. I am warning you that I’m not playing along with your stupid plan cause I am not giving up on Lance.”

“Why not!” Arthur shouted, frustrated. “You’re already convinced he’s going to cheat on you, why are you so desperate to hold on to him?”

“Because I bloody love him, you’ve probably never been in love, you have no idea how much it hurts to lose someone you love.”

“I may have not been in love, I do know a lost cause when I see one. You may love Lance but he doesn’t love you. Deal with it,” he said harshly.

“Just fuck off, Arthur.”

“Not calling me sir anymore then.”

“Just leave,” Merlin nearly begged.

Arthur gave him one final look and finally left the bathroom. Merlin felt drained. It was only now sinking in how much he had lost. It wasn’t just Lance, it was his whole life. If he was forced to stay here, he would never live in his old apartment with Will, he would never work as Gaius’ assistant and eventually become a vet himself, his mum would never really know him, the real him.

Part of him wanted to just give up, but he couldn’t give Arthur that satisfaction. He was determined not to be Arthur’s servant for the rest of his life. Starting tomorrow, he was going to help Gaius with his research and go back home. After all, it would be irresponsible for someone with slight brain damage to have a summer job.

*

Merlin got up really early the next day and went to Gaius’ room. He explained everything to him, not just the whole Arthur and Morgana situation, also his own life. Gaius agreed to declare him incapable to work for at least a few weeks and he’d talk to the King himself about it. Even Arthur couldn’t win against his father.

In the meantime, they would search every book in the library for clues about whoever did this to him and especially how. Going back home was his priority now. Arthur was right about one thing, it was time to stop prioritizing Lance. That was a lost cause and why should Merlin be this desperate to keep someone who didn’t want him in the first place? There were plenty of other guys to obsess over, maybe he should find out if Gwaine was serious about his many indecent proposals.

He had been sitting in the library for at least three hours when Arthur suddenly showed up. He asked Gaius to leave them alone for a minute. Of course he agreed, no one argued with the crown prince. Except Merlin apparently.

“What are you doing here, Arthur?” he asked, trying to be patient this time. He didn’t want to fight in the royal library, it didn’t seem proper.

“I’ve come to check up on you, according to my father you’re nearly on your deathbed. You don’t seem that gravely ill to me.”

“Gaius has discovered that my concussion is worse than he originally assumed. I went to the hospital this morning for some further tests.”

Arthur continued his interrogation. “Yes, I know all about that part. So why aren’t you in bed then?”

“Gaius wants to keep my mind busy,” Merlin explained, “but I can’t run around fetching watches and beer all the time. I can’t do any physical activities.”

Arthur still looked quite suspicious. “Looks like it’s going to be a very dry month for you then.”

“However much I appreciate your concern about my sex life, it’s not necessary. I’m going out with Lance later **.”**

Arthur gave him a disbelieving look.“You’re seriously still going out with that guy.”

“Maybe you were right about the love part, but have you seen him? He’s hot,” Merlin said defiantly. Of course, he had no intention whatsoever of going out with Lance, it was just fun to torture Arthur a little.

“How shallow of you, if you want a pretty face to look at, just ask Gwaine.”

“Oh, I was planning on doing that next, maybe I’ll just work my way through the palace ranks.”

“Well you know the way to my bedroom,” Arthur flirted.

“Yes, and I’m never setting foot in there again. Now leave me alone, I’m helping Gaius with his research and I don’t want to deal with your childish antics any longer.”

Arthur caved in and left Merlin alone, he didn’t see him for the next three days. But he knew his luck couldn’t last. This was confirmed when he received a personal invitation to Princess Morgana’s party. Just what he needed.

He was still deciding how to politely decline when his phone went off, it was Lance. He picked up, mainly out of curiosity.

“Hello, sweetheart,” Lance said. Merlin was starting to hate the stupid pet names. “I’m just calling to ask how you’re surviving with that annoying Prince Arthur bugging you.”

“He’s not bugging me any longer,” Merlin informed him. “Gaius discovered that I’m not well enough to run after him.”

“Are you not ok?” Lance asked, clearly worried.

“I’m fine, I just need some rest which means I’m helping Gaius do some research. It’s a nice way to earn some money.”

“Merlin, you should have called me earlier, I had no idea you had all these troubles. I’ll come by later so we can talk in person. In fact, we should celebrate our anniversary tonight since we didn’t have a chance to earlier. Which was completely my fault of course and I can’t apologize enough.”

“Actually there is a party tonight at the palace, hosted by Princess Morgana. She invited me, you could come along.”

“Uh, do you think that is a good idea?” Lance asked hesitantly. “Won’t Prince Arthur be there?”

“Probably, but we could just pop in for a minute and then go back to my room. My mother’s room is two doors down, so we could spend some time together.”

“Merlin, are you suggesting what I think you’re suggesting?”

“If you’re thinking about sex, then yes,” he joked.

Lance wasn’t laughing. “You want our first time to be after Morgana’s party?”

Alarm bells went off in Merlin’s head, they didn’t have sex yet. That was very different to his own experiences. Their first time had been terribly romantic, although unfortunately not very good.

“We could just talk,” he suggested. “I think we have a lot to talk about.”

“We do,” Lance agreed. “I’ll see you tonight at nine, is that ok?”

“That sounds fine,” Merlin answered. It was hard to muster much enthusiasm when they were clearly heading towards a break up.

Maybe it was good for him to finally let Lance go, he was never his to keep in the first place.

*

Merlin had been reading so much that he thought he was hallucinating when he heard someone call his name. He looked up anyway and could see Will enthusiastically waving at him.

“Will!” he shouted without thinking, he received a stern hush from Gaius.

“What are you doing here?” Merlin asked. He was surprised how tanned he was, not to mention muscled.

“You mean in the library? The question is what are you doing here? Your mum told me you were working here with Gaius. Even though you told me you were planning on spending your entire summer with Lance. Is there trouble in paradise?”

That was a question he couldn’t answer in the royal library. “Let’s go back to my room, I’ll fill you in about everything.”

Once they arrived in his room, Merlin asked Will about his trip. Will shrugged. “Nothing special as usual. My grandmother is getting crazier every year but she did give me enough money to finally take that trip to France. Interested?”

“I can’t,” Merlin said regretfully. Running away to France sounded like a brilliant idea right now. “I need to stay here to help Gaius.”

“Can’t he survive without you for a while? I mean, his research can’t be that important that it can’t wait for a few weeks.”

Merlin debated telling Will the whole truth about why he needed to stay here, but would he believe him? “I need to tell you something,” he started saying. The more Merlin explained, the wider Will’s eyes got. But the important thing was that in the end, he believed him. He had never felt more relieved in his life.

“So what does 20-year-old Will look like?” he asked excitedly. “Have I grown even more handsome?”

“You’ve only aged 3 years, you haven’t changed that much. And I can’t believe that is your first question. What about: how does someone end up in some weird alternate universe?”

“That was totally my next question, old Merlin.”

“I’m not that old,” he protested.

“You are to me,” he smiled. “Wait, does that mean my Merlin is gone?”

“I don’t know, but I literally woke up in his body.”

“Next to Arthur Pendragon, bet you enjoyed that part,” Will teased.

“Of course not, he was very rude to me and has been ever since. He’s the main reason I want my old life back. Speaking of my old life, what can you tell me about Lance and me?”

“How do I say this: you’re boring. It’s not that I don’t like Lance, he’s one of my best friends. But the two of you together, I never really got it.”

“You don’t think he likes me,” Merlin concluded.

“Of course you like each other, you’re friends. But I don’t exactly see sparks flying when you’re in a room together.”

“That’s why I’m breaking up with him today,” Merlin said decisively.

“Wow, that is huge but are you sure? I mean, what if my Merlin comes back, he might be disappointed to suddenly not have a boyfriend.”

“Trust me, I’m only doing him a favour. We’re just not supposed to be together, I guess.”

Will patted him on the shoulder. “I’m sorry, mate, but there are plenty of other fish in the sea. I’ve heard the boys in France are particularly pretty,” he said, raising his eyebrows suggestively.

“I’ve just explained that I can’t leave this place, I’ve got to find to a way back to my own life. I can’t stay here.”

“I don’t think you’ll find one until you’ve done whatever it is you’re supposed to do,” Will said thoughtfully. “Someone went to pretty extreme lengths to get you here, it’s unlikely that you’re just able to hop back.”

“That’s what I’m afraid of, but how on earth am I supposed to save Prince Arthur’s life?”

“If only you were like his personal assistant or something, that would be handy, wouldn’t it?” he said with a healthy dose of sarcasm.

“Will, if I hadn’t quit, I would have strangled him myself. But I get what you’re saying, if I’m not able to save him, I’ll probably never go back home.  And even if I don’t personally like the guy, I don’t want him to die, he doesn’t deserve that.”

“Guess you’ll have to try to survive his company then. It’s not like Gaius is some wise wizard, even if he finds a counter-spell, how is he going to make it work?”

“Could you please stop bringing logic into this, it’s depressing me,” Merlin whined.

“It’s not like I enjoy being the smart one all the time, but someone has to do the job,” he said, looking quite smug.

“Believe what you want to believe, but once you meet the prince you’ll understand my dilemma.” An idea popped into Merlin’s head. “You should come to Morgana’s party with Lance and me.”

“I don’t know, aren’t you supposed to break up with him tonight, I don’t think I need to be there for that.”

“It’s no problem, I told Lance we wouldn’t be staying long. But since you’re such a genius maybe you can figure out if Princess Morgana is behind all of this.”

“Ah, Princess Morgana. I bet she is even better looking in real life. Actually you have a point, I’ll be there.”

“I’m really glad I told you,” Merlin said.

“Oh come on Merlin, it doesn’t matter what universe you’re in, you can always count on good old Will,” he grinned.

Merlin couldn’t suppress a grin either, it felt good to have his best friend back. Now he only had to survive this night.

*

When Lance arrived, Merlin was starting to feel much less decisive. He had never broken up with someone before. Especially not with someone he loved so much. But Will was right, they probably would be better off as friends. There was no need for any arguments. Right, he was totally going to do this. After they visited the party, it would be dangerous to be rude to a princess.

“Merlin, you look lovely,” Lance said but he looked slightly apprehensive. Merlin had a feeling he wasn’t the only one in this relationship thinking of ending it.

“Thanks, let’s go to the party. Oh, Will is coming along with us.”

Now Lance was genuinely smiling. “That’s great news, I had no idea he got back yet.”

“He only came back today,” Merlin explained, “and he’s quite excited about meeting Princess Morgana.”

“I sure am,” Will confirmed and he was properly dressed up. “Good to see you, Lance, still looking as handsome as ever.”

“Good to see you too, mate. How long are you staying?”

“I think my mum can’t survive more than two weeks, but we’ll see. I’m definitely going to France, if Lady Morgana doesn’t start fancying me of course.”

Merlin and Lance both started laughing.

“What! It could totally happen, have you seen these arms?”

The ball room Morgana had chosen, was wonderfully decorated, Merlin was afraid they were a bit underdressed. They were going to stand out when Arthur's posh friends started arriving. A fear which was confirmed when Gwaine approached him.

“Hello, sunshine,” he said to Merlin. “You’ve been greatly missed. Do you realize Arthur had to call back poor George from his honeymoon. Poor thing, his first holiday in years. Are you sure I can’t do anything to convince you to come back.”

“Unless you’re capable of changing his personality, I don’t see myself coming back any time soon. And my health doesn’t allow it anyway.”

“Oh, of course your health,” Gwaine said gravely. “You must be careful about that. So who are your mates?”

“This is Lance and that is Will.”

“Lance, that name sounds vaguely familiar.”

“I’m the one who punched your friend,” Lance admitted quietly.

“Ah right, of course,” Gwaine said jovially. “Well you sure got some balls, Arthur was pissed as fuck about that.”

Will apparently had heard enough about Arthur. “Could you introduce me to Morgana?” he asked Gwaine.

“Of course, any friend of Merlin is a friend of mine. We should give these two lovebirds some privacy anyway.”

Merlin couldn’t help but feel that last comment sounded a bit sarcastic. Hmm, maybe Gwaine paid more attention than he gave him credit for.

“Actually, Merlin, I’d like to go back to your room,” Lance said. “Before we run into Arthur,” he added quickly.

“Maybe I should say hello to Morgana first. I mean, she’s the reason I’m here after all.”

Lance seemed tense and Merlin quickly discovered why when he heard someone say. “Don’t worry, I’ll tell her you stopped by. Your presence means the world to our family.”

He turned around and of course Arthur looked amazing in his suit. Merlin felt like a clown in comparison.

“Well it would mean the world to us if you told her we were here,” Merlin retorted.

“I’m just glad you’re recovering so quickly, already going to parties.”

“Trust me, I still get tired very quickly. Lance and I were just about to go lay down for a while.”

He turned around and didn’t give Arthur another look, luckily Lance followed. Merlin only felt safe again when he was back in his own room. There was an awkward silence for a while which was broken when Lance asked, “Do you have any idea why Arthur looked jealous?”

That was definitely not what Merlin was expecting him to say. “What do you mean, jealous? He’s not interested in Gwen.”

“I wasn’t talking about Gwen, I was talking about you. He seemed to enjoy having your attention and you seem to like giving it to him.”

Merlin couldn’t believe what he was hearing. “I don’t know what’s more ridiculous: that you seem to think that Prince Arthur Pendragon is desperate for my attention or that you’re actually pretending to care.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Lance said, more upset than Merlin had ever heard him.

“Ok, I was going to be all mature about this but fuck it, I don’t care anymore. I’m talking about the fact that you’re all over Gwen,” he spit out.

“Gwen! I barely know her.”

“When was the last time you saw her?”

“This morning, but we were just discussing summer jobs...”

Merlin interrupted him, “Let’s just get to the point, we both want to break up.”

“Because I spoke to Gwen this morning!”

“No, because you are not in love with me, are you?”

Lance was quiet which was even more depressing. “Well I guess have my answer then.”

“I never meant to hurt you, Merlin,” Lance said carefully.

“Of course, you didn’t,” Merlin said, “it’s not like I hate you or anything. Actually, I don’t think I’m in love with you either. Maybe we stayed together for this long because we felt we should.” He sighed. “I guess it was never supposed to be Merlin and Lance.”

“I’m so sorry, Merlin, you’re my best friend in the world. I don’t want to lose you.”

“We’ll always be friends,” Merlin assured him. “But I think that’s all we’re supposed to be.”

*


	3. Chapter 3

They spent another hour talking to each other and Merlin was relieved it seemed like they really could be friends again. That didn’t mean he didn’t feel down when Lance left. He made a drastic decision, he was going back to the party. It was no use sulking here alone when he could spend some time with Will. Who knew how much time they had left together. And now that this Lance mess was over, he could concentrate completely on his research with Gaius. That was the most important thing after all.

Of course going back to the party, meant carefully avoiding Arthur. That didn’t seem to be much of a problem, he spotted him snogging Sophia. Seemed like Lance was wrong about his interest in Merlin. He took a drink and continued his search for Will.

His best friend seemed to having a lot of fun, he was dancing with Morgana. Merlin almost thought he was having another hallucination, but they looked like they were having a lot fun. There was no sign of Gwaine anywhere, instead Leon waved at him to come over.

“Merlin, nice to see you again,” Leon said. “I’m glad Arthur didn’t scare you of the palace.”

Merlin smiled. “He’s not as scary as he thinks he is. I can see Will is getting along well with Princess Morgana.”

“Yes, it’s weird. Normally it takes Morgana a while to warm up to someone. Your friend must be very charming.”

“He is, contrary to your own friend,” Merlin added.

“Arthur does have loads of good qualities,” Leon said convincingly. “You just haven’t seen them yet.”

“I know you’re not the lying type so I believe you, but he seems to hide them very well,” Merlin scoffed.

Leon looked very serious, as usual. “You have to understand that it’s not easy for Arthur and Morgana to trust someone. They have to be very careful. One of Arthur’s oldest friends sold pictures of him to one of the papers last year. That’s why the King sent him to that school in Spain.”

“You seem to trust me, Leon, and you hardly know me.”

“There is something about you, Merlin, you seem like you can be trusted.”

“Much appreciated, so where can I get a beer here?”

“I’ll get you one,” Leon said, he was finally smiling. Merlin went back to enjoying the show Will and Morgana were putting on. He had no idea Will was such a good dancer.

He was distracted when a beer started flying in front of his face. “Thanks, Leon.”

“You’re welcome, but I’m definitely not Leon.”

That voice was starting to haunt him. “Arthur, of course. Shouldn’t you be busy kissing Sophia?”

“Nah, been there, done that, sent her a postcard. I get bored easily. So where is that boyfriend of yours, off punching someone like usual?”

“He’s not my boyfriend.” Merlin couldn’t believe he just said that, he clearly had no control over his mouth these days.

“Hmm, interesting,” Arthur said, he was definitely intrigued now. “Was I right after all?”

“I didn’t break up with him because of you,” he explained hastily. “Or Gwen, I just realized we weren’t right for each other.”

“Please, I could have told you that a long time ago. He’s so boring, you need someone with a personality. What’s the use of all that fire inside of you if you have no one to spark with?”

“Why does everyone keep going on about those stupid sparks? Besides, I’m not interested in dating anyone at the moment since I’m not planning on sticking around much longer.”

“Why’s that?” Arthur asked curiously.

Crap, he needed to come up with something. “Um, school of course.”

“Of course. There’s something I need to show you,” Arthur said suddenly.

“Now?” Merlin asked, confused. “I’m not polishing your shoes, Prince Arthur.”

“It’s not that, trust me, alright?”

Merlin figured it couldn’t do much harm, Will was preoccupied anyway. He followed Arthur through the maze that was the palace. Even after living here for a while, he had no idea where he was. If Arthur was planning on killing him, he was doing a very good job.

Finally, they reached what appeared to be a bowling alley. Merlin looked around, amazed. “Are you telling me that our King likes to bowl? How scandalous.”

“It’s one of our biggest secrets, I really hope I can trust you.”

“You can,” Merlin said, more seriously than he had intended to. He did want Arthur to trust him, he was his ticket out of here after all. “But why did you bring me here? If you had a sudden urge to bowl, I’m sure you could have found someone who is much better at it. You know how clumsy I am.”

“That’s exactly why I asked you,” Arthur replied triumphantly. “I’m in the mood for an easy win.”

“Bastard,” Merlin mumbled, but stayed anyway. He actually liked bowling.

*

He had more fun with Arthur than he remembered having in a long time and it was nice to take his mind off the whole Lance situation. Arthur did beat him, but Merlin didn’t even care anymore.

“I knew you would be a natural at this, losing I mean.”

“Oh please, it was pretty close. Besides, I’m still mourning so it wasn’t a completely fair match in the first place.”

“You don’t seem that heartbroken to me,” Arthur pointed out.

“Well it wasn’t very sudden, I guess.” Now that was an understatement.

“For what it’s worth, I do feel a bit sorry for my part in the break up.”

He sounded genuine, but Merlin needed to set things straight once and for all. “Seriously, I did not break up with Lance because of your sister.”

“No it’s not that, it’s because you like me.”

“Like you! Your ego is truly enormous, I didn’t break up with Lance because of you!”

“Whatever you say, Merlin,” Arthur teased. “Shall I escort you to your room? I doubt you’ll ever find your way back on your own.”

“You’re lucky that I’m too tired to wander around in this freaking maze.”

Merlin was planning on going inside his room without saying a word to Arthur, but before he got the chance to shut the door in his face, Arthur grabbed him by the shoulder.

“Can I just ask you something?”

“Haven’t I done enough for you?” Merlin asked, truly exasperated. “You can start planning your Lancelot and Gwen wedding and your sister can find someone who does like her. What more do you want?”

“A date, with you,” Arthur said quickly, it was the very first time he sounded insecure to Merlin.

Merlin felt like he just arrived in another bizarroworld. “I don’t understand, you want to go out with me? Why?”

“Because I like you, idiot,” he answered slowly.

“Idiot, aren’t you quite the romantic.”

“Just say yes already so we can get over this awkward part.”

“You know what, why not. Surprise me,” he challenged him.

“Don’t worry, I will.”

Merlin told himself he only agreed because he was supposed to save Arthur if he ever wanted to go back home. But deep down, he knew that he really was curious what Arthur was going to do next.

*

The following morning, there were pictures of Arthur snogging some girl at Percy’s party in the papers. Which meant that King Uther had forbidden him to leave the palace. Arthur didn’t seem very pleased when he informed Merlin their date was going to have to take place in the palace. Merlin didn’t really mind, the palace was still an exciting place for him, it even had a bowling alley. He actually found it a bit endearing how upset Arthur looked while delivering the bad news.

Not that Arthur himself was the slightest bit endearing of course, he was still a huge clotpole.

The problem was that it wasn't that long before something terrible happened to that clotpole. Merlin vividly remembered hearing someone on the radio saying that Prince Arthur had passed away. Like the rest of the country, he was completely in shock. He was only seventeen. Although there was nothing really peculiar about the cause of death: a car accident.

The solution seemed to be very simple, keep Arthur inside the palace until then. Uther had unknowingly helped to achieve that goal. The problem was Arthur’s stubbornness, Merlin didn’t think Uther would be able to keep him in check for more than a week. He didn’t believe he could control Arthur himself either. In many ways he was a bit of a loose cannon, besides Arthur hardly knew him. What he needed was an ally, someone who did know Arthur.

He went over several names in his head: Morgana, Gwaine, Leon, even Uther. He didn’t want to worry his family so it was between Gwaine and Leon. They seemed to be Arthur’s closest friends from what he could tell. And he had spent a lot of time listening to Arthur talking with his friends. Most of them seemed to agree with whatever Arthur came up with, Leon and Gwaine were the only ones who put up some resistance.

So that was it, it was either Gwaine or Leon. Merlin had no idea why, but he felt like he should go with Gwaine. Leon was much more sensible, but maybe that wasn’t what he needed at the moment. Nothing about this situation made sense after all.

*

Arthur’s friends seemed to rather like him, since they spent most of their time at the palace with him. Merlin was starting to doubt whether they even had a home or parents. It did make things a lot easier for him when he needed to talk to Gwaine.

He spent some time waiting for him in the corridor and sure enough there he was, looking as cheerful as ever. “Gwaine, can I talk to you for a second?” he called out.

“Only a second, you’re clearly not telling me you deep, dark secret then.”

“Not just yet,” Merlin amended. “I actually wanted to discuss Arthur’s situation with you, you know the fact that the King has grounded him.”

“Ah, that. Arthur will have forgotten all about that in two days, he’s not very good at listening.”

Shit, that was exactly what he was afraid of. “Do you think I could persuade him to stay inside the palace a bit longer, it’s just I was actually in one of those pictures in the papers. And I’d like to keep a low profile, you understand?”

“I get it, you want some private time with Arthur. Young love needs to blossom.”

“I wasn’t talking about love, Gwaine.”

“Sure, not yet,” Gwaine conceded. “But you didn’t hear Arthur boasting about his date with you, he’s really looking forward to this. So if it goes bad, I might be forced to execute you, just a warning.”

“I’ll keep that in mind. Do you really think Arthur likes me that much?”

“Of course he does, do you think he goes on dates all the time? Don’t get me wrong, there have been several girls and boys, just no one important. I think he does it to spare his dad, it wasn’t always easy after his coming-out.”

Right, Arthur’s coming-out, another memorable day in the life of young Merlin Emrys. The day Prince Arthur informed the country he was bisexual.

“I’m glad you understand me, so will you help me keep Arthur inside this place for a while?”

“I’ll do my utmost best,” Gwaine promised. “Don’t expect miracles, however. He’s still Arthur Pendragon.”

“Trust me, I’m starting to understand exactly what that means.”

*

Having Gwaine on board might make things a bit easier in the future, however his main focus was still finding the spell to correct this mess. Although Will had a brilliant point, how on earth were they going to perform this magic. As far as Merlin knew, there was no such thing as a witch or wizard. Although clearly there had to be one around somewhere, since someone put this whole thing in motion. Unless that person was currently living in the palace, the odds of finding them were quite small. He didn’t even have the slightest clue of where to start looking.

Gaius seemed to grow discouraged as well. He kept reading and reading, but it was tough when you never found anything.

“I’m starting to lose confidence in this plan,” Gaius told him. “I don’t think we’re ever going to get through all of this. And then there is the whole actually performing the spell part.”

“It’s hopeless,” Merlin helpfully concluded. “I know, that’s why I’ve come up with a much simpler plan, just try to keep him inside on the day when the accident is supposed to happen.”

“But what if something else happens to him that day?” Gaius asked, with doubt in his voice.

“Then I’ll chain him to his bed.”

Gaius raised his eyebrows at that plan.

Another idea popped into his head. “Oh, that’s it. We need to make him sick, make sure that he can’t even leave his bed. That’s perfect, isn’t it?”

“How are we supposed to make him sick? I’m a doctor, Merlin. I cure people, I do not make them sick.”

“You can make another creative diagnosis,” Merlin suggested. “It worked for me.”

“That’s hardly the same thing. Your mother might be a formidable force but when the crown prince gets sick, the King will want a proper check-up for his son.”

“Doesn’t he trust you then? That’s what you’re supposed to do, curing people in the palace.”

“It’s not that simple,” Gaius repeated. “I think your plan to tie him up might have more success.”

Merlin finally admitted defeat, it was no use to keep pushing. “Well, my date with Arthur is tonight, I’ll try to figure out something then.”

“About that, I don’t know if it’s a good idea to let yourself be emotionally involved with Arthur.”

Merlin waved away his concerns. “It’s just a date, it’s not like he proposed to me. I could go back to working as his assistant, although that would be a bit weird after I went on a date with him.”

“As long as you remember that this is not your real life, you’re not supposed to be here, with Arthur.”

“Of course I remember that, I wouldn’t go to all this trouble if I didn’t.” That was what he said to Gaius, he just had to start convincing himself now.

*

Arthur looked gorgeous (he always did), but there was something about the simple jeans that really finished it off.

“I hope this outfit is acceptable,” Arthur said. “I tried to dress like a commoner.”

Merlin rolled his eyes. “You just had to ruin it, why do you even bother talking?”

“Pardon me, I say a lot of intelligent stuff which you’ll find out today.” He sounded rather excited about that.

“So where are we going?”

“I was thinking we could watch a movie, you even get to pick which one.”

“The palace has its own cinema, do the taxpayers know about this?”

“No one does,” Arthur whispered.

He wasn’t lying, there really was a small cinema. It was large enough for at least thirty people. The surprises just kept coming with Arthur Pendragon. “So what are you in the mood for? A bit of romance to set the mood?”

“Please. Bring on the horror,” Merlin answered.

So they watched a horror movie. Arthur didn’t seem to be much of a fan, although it did give him an opportunity to slide a lot closer than Merlin would have preferred. He wasn’t exactly pushing him away either, he was only a boy after all. Although Arthur was starting to get a bit too close, his intentions didn’t seem to be that honourable. Merlin felt relieved when the movie was over and told Arthur he wanted to go back to his own room.

Arthur had agreed but he didn’t seem to think the night was over already, he tried to come inside with Merlin.

“Sorry, Arthur, I think I’m going to sleep. I still get tired rather quickly.”

“How tired are you exactly?”

“Really tired," Merlin replied. "Besides, I did just break up with my boyfriend and this is our first date.”

“You’re probably right,” Arthur agreed. “Don’t get used to me saying that by the way. How about we plan another date, very soon?”

Maybe this was Merlin’s best shot to achieve his goal. “What about the 30th of July?”

“That’s weeks away, why would we wait that long? Is it your birthday or something?”

What on earth was he going to say now? “Just reserve that date please, it has a special meaning to me.”

“Am I really that special to you?” Arthur teased.

“Please just do this for me?”

“Fine, I’ll book the day for you. But I will try to convince my dad to let us out of the palace for our next date, I’m starting to run out of venues.”

“I never really agreed to a second date, did I?”

“I think you did the moment you started going on about your special day. Don’t worry, the next date will be a lot more exciting.”

That was exactly what Merlin was scared off. **“** Please, don’t go too wild, I’m honestly quite boring. I don’t do well with too much excitement, especially since I’m technically ill at the moment.”

“You worry too much, have a little faith in your prince,” Arthur admonished him. “It will be worth it in the end.”

Merlin really hoped it would be.

*

Apparently, Arthur liked to drive race cars in his spare time. Merlin didn’t quite understand why the King allowed his heir to put himself in danger like that. When Arthur suggested the race track as the location for their next date, Merlin nearly had a heart attack. He might as well stab Arthur with his fork. But persuading Arthur not do something turned out to be very hard work. Merlin was starting to understand his friends a lot better.

When he finally managed to convince Arthur that he didn’t want to go racing, with Gwaine’s help, he was faced with a new challenge when Arthur wanted to go paintballing. Ok, that might not sound as dangerous, but what if got hit in an unfortunate place. Or he fell over a branch, hit his head and died. There were too many risks involved.

So far Merlin had only discovered one foolproof way to keep Arthur safe: very long make out sessions. At least he stayed in one spot, not that it was exactly a hardship to kiss such an incredibly hot guy.

They had just finished another one of their make out marathons, when Arthur raised a very important question. “Are you my boyfriend?”

Merlin was stunned for a second, but then realized that all the evidence was pointing in that direction. “Why do you ask?”

“Oh, it’s just that my father requested to meet my boyfriend, but I wasn’t even sure if I had one. The good news is that you’ve already passed the security check when you started living here, so at least we’ve got that out of the way.”

“Yes, I feel much better knowing that,” Merlin sighed. “I don’t know, Arthur. Do you want me to be your boyfriend?”

“Don’t be such a coward, I totally asked first.”

“How mature of you,” Merlin replied, “you can definitely tell that you’ve been raised to cut ribbons.”

“You little bastard,” Arthur smirked. “I don’t even know if I want you as my boyfriend anymore.”

“Aha, so you do want me to be your boyfriend, you totally confessed,” Merlin said triumphantly.

“Alright,” Arthur admitted and he raised his hands. “I have confessed so what about you? Where are your balls, Merlin?”

“I have a feeling you’re going to be a very annoying boyfriend.”

“Aww, I was just thinking the exact same thing. I have high hopes for our future,” Arthur said and went back to what he was originally doing: kissing Merlin.

Merlin didn’t disagree with this particular idea, steadfastly ignoring the little voice in his head which sounded suspiciously like Gaius.

*

“Merlin, are you not allowed to leave this place or something?”

“What’s that supposed to mean, Will?”

Will looked quite curiously at him. “Because I’ve sent you loads of messages, asking to meet up somewhere and you refuse every single time. In the end, I had to drag my lovely arse to the palace. I know you live here but it’s not exactly fun to be body searched when you want to see your best friend.”

“I’ve just been busy with Arthur,” Merlin explained, distracted by his memories of Arthur sitting on that exact same spot on his bed.

“Ah right, busy finding out how to save his life or were you a bit too busy getting love bites from him to find out?”

Merlin quickly checked his neck in the mirror. “I do not have a hickey,” he protested.

“Well whether or not you have one, you are dating Prince Arthur. Maybe I should emphasize the _prince_ part, cause I’m not sure you’re getting it.”

“What about it, am I supposed to get? I know perfectly well that Arthur is a prince and that this is not my universe. It’s not like I’m plotting our wedding.”

Will looked glum, it didn’t suit him. “It’s just the more I think about this, the scarier it gets. Whoever did this, was trying to protect Arthur, it doesn’t seem like they gave a shit about you. That’s why I need you to care about yourself, it’s not just Arthur’s life at stake here.”

“You’re right,” he admitted. “I guess I got swept away by the sparks. Oh God, what if by saving Arthur, I lose my own life. You see, this is exactly why I’m trying not to think about all of this, it’s just too scary.”

“I know you and Gaius have given up on the whole research plan, but what about focusing on who could be responsible for this?”

“I suspected Morgana, but I don’t think she is capable of orchestrating this whole thing. She’s too young, I think someone truly powerful has to behind this.”

“What about the King,” Will suggested. “He’s definitely powerful enough, he could have been planning this for years.”

“Fortunately I haven’t met him yet, or at least I don’t remember meeting him. But from everything Arthur has told me, he doesn’t seem like the type who would hang out with wizards.” Then it suddenly hit Merlin that there was someone in the palace with a huge interest in magic. “Oh my god, it’s the Queen. It must have been her. It’s been right in front of us the entire time.”

“Ok, I know I’m a firm believer in creative thinking, but the woman has been dead for a while now. How on earth could she have planned something to happen nearly ten years later? Second of all, do you really think our Queen was a witch?”

“No, I don’t think she was a witch at all. If she was, she wouldn’t have needed all those books to study it. But maybe she knew a witch, we have to go talk to Gaius. He’s more familiar with the Pendragon family.”

There was a small smile on Will’s face. “It’s good to have you back, Merlin.”

*

Gaius seemed very surprised when Merlin confronted him with his suspicions about Arthur’s mother. “It doesn’t really make sense, I know the Queen had an impressive collection of books about magic, but she was a woman with many interests. The only time I’ve seen her truly interested in the subject was around the time she was pregnant with Arthur.”

“That’s over seventeen years ago,” Will said. “To pull that off, she must have been brilliant.”

“Oh, she was brilliant,” Gaius said proudly. “The most intelligent person I’ve ever known. Her death was a great loss to all of us. I just don’t know if she was capable of doing something like this. Unless...”

“Unless what?” Merlin asked impatiently.

“There was this friend she had, her name was Nimueh. They were childhood friends, they seemed to lose touch after Arthur was born. Nimueh used to claim she was a witch, of course no one actually believed her.”

“Maybe they should have,” Merlin said thoughtfully. “We need to find this Nimueh, she might have the answers we’re searching for.”

“I agree,” Will said. “Gaius, you don’t happen to have an old address laying around?”

And so their quest to find the mysterious Nimueh began.

*

Google was not their friend, the name Nimueh didn’t gave them a single relevant result which was very weird since it wasn’t exactly a common name. Merlin was starting to think the woman lived on a deserted island or maybe she wasn’t living anywhere anymore. She could have died years ago.

“We can’t give up now,” Will encouraged a desperate Merlin. “We’ll find something, I promise.”

“You shouldn’t make promises you can’t live up to. I promised my mum this morning that I would be very careful and I’m already breaking that one by searching for a powerful witch.”

“I still don’t believe she’s an actual witch. Maybe she just stumbled on something by accident.”

“How on earth do you accidentally make someone travel through time and space?” Merlin argued. Before they could discuss their theories any further, they were interrupted by someone bursting through the door. It was Arthur of course, joined by Gwaine and Owain.

“At last I’ve managed to locate my boyfriend, I was starting to get worried,” Arthur said loudly. He was in a suspiciously good mood.

“I do spend most of my time in my own room so you can’t have been looking that hard. You’ve met Will, my best friend.”

Arthur gave Will a careful look and then said enthusiastically, “Of course, the marvellous dancer. We were all very relieved that Morgana finally managed to find herself a good dance partner. You must come to all our parties.”

“I’ll do my best,” Will answered, a bit coy.

“So I don’t know what you boys were talking about, probably me, but I have great news. Absolutely fantastic news, Merlin. After informing my dad that I’m now officially in a mature relationship, he has proposed a trip for all of us. Apparently, he’s been rather impressed with my recent behaviour and he’s quite eager to get to know you.”

“Um, when and where does this trip take place?” Merlin asked, already afraid of the answer.

“We should leave in a few days and we’ll probably be back by the end of August.”

“Arthur, I can’t,” Merlin said apologetically. “Remember our date.”

“I do like that you can be a bit quirky sometimes, but seriously you can’t say no to this. We’re talking about a massive yacht here, it’s going to be amazing. I promise.”

Merlin turned to Will who looked just as miserable as him. How was he going to get out of this?

*

Merlin contemplated his options. The first one seemed to be the least desirable one: breaking up with Arthur. Technically, he shouldn’t have been dating him in the first place. Second option: invent another illness, but then his mother really would force him to go to the hospital. She still checked his temperature every morning. Third option: go on the trip to make sure he didn’t drown.

None of these options seemed to strike him as the right one, but then again maybe there was no right choice. He would have to follow his gut, even if his heart would have made a completely different choice.

He went to Arthur’s room, trying to come up with something to say. He failed.

Arthur seemed really happy to see him. “Aww, you really can’t miss me. Come in, I’m already packing.”

“Arthur, I really can’t go with you,” Merlin said quickly.

“We’ve already discussed this, you can’t refuse a yacht. Wait, I’ll show you some pictures,” he said and grabbed his laptop.

“I’m going back to Lance,” Merlin lied. It seemed like the only way to finish this.

Arthur’s face quickly grew serious. “That’s not very funny, Merlin. Why are you saying these things? Do you really hate boats this much? Cause if you really don’t want to go, we could just stay home.”

“This isn’t about the boat,” Merlin assured him, “it’s going on holiday with the royal family. I mean this is all going so fast, the press is going to be all over this. I don’t know if I’m ready to be Prince Arthur’s first boyfriend.”

“So you’re scared of the press and that’s why you want to go back to your boring old boyfriend, is that what you’re saying? Sorry, I’m just trying to figure out all the shit you’ve just said.”

“It’s not shit!” Merlin could feel himself break. “And I don’t know why I mentioned Lance, alright. I’m not getting back together with him. But I guess I started panicking because you want to make our relationship public so soon. It’s just going too fast for me.”

Surprisingly, Arthur looked quite understanding. “You might have a point, I have a tendency to run off without thinking. Even though the lie about Lance was shitty, I understand where you’re coming from. I guess I’m not used to being with someone who doesn’t want to attract attention to themselves. The girls I usually spend time with never seemed to have a problem with that.

“Maybe we don’t have to cancel the trip, we could postpone it,” Merlin said. “Push it back to next summer, by then we can announce the engagement.”

He was relieved to see a smile on Arthur’s face again. “Are you kidding me? If we manage to last for a year, the press will be writing about our engagement every single day. Even if we are still only nineteen, logic doesn’t matter to the tabloids.”

“I can’t wait.”

“Yes, me neither,” Arthur replied. “Could you stay here tonight? I just don’t want to let you go just yet.”

“Are you afraid I’m going to run off?” Merlin tried to joke.

“I guess I am. I don’t know why, but I have a feeling you’re slipping away from me. I know it’s ridiculous since we barely know each other but there’s something different about you, Merlin.”

“Let’s just forget all this,” Merlin suggested. “I want to stop worrying and enjoy our time together.”

They didn’t talk much for the rest of the night, Merlin thought they were both a bit scared to. But the next morning, he knew exactly where to look for Nimueh. It was the answer to a very easy question: where did the Queen find all those books about magic? A bookshop.

*


	4. Chapter 4

He said goodbye to Arthur and called Will to inform him they needed to find a bookshop in the city that specialized in magic books. Hopefully she was still running one. Merlin didn’t think there could be that many, he was proven right. It didn’t take long for them to find ‘Albion’ or Nimueh’s bookshop. They also found out why Google couldn’t help them. She’d changed her name to Nathalie, much easier to blend in with that name. Fortunately, Gaius did manage to recognize her in one of the few pictures of her on Albion’s website.

Still Merlin felt very unprepared for his confrontation with the woman who might have ruined his life.

“She is really hot,” Will remarked.

Merlin threw him a nasty glare and said, “Seriously. I think we’ve got more important matters to deal with.”

“Sorry, just trying to take away some of the tension. I can hear your heart beating.”

Merlin was going to comment on that, but Nimueh spotted them and asked, “Can I help you, boys? Searching for anything in particular, a love spell for a special lady?”

“Actually, we have come here for a spell, my name is Merlin Emrys.”

Nimueh didn’t seem to have any reaction to his name. “Nice to meet you, Merlin, bit of a funny name.”

“I’d think you could relate, Nimueh.”

Now she was starting to react. “How on earth do you know my name? Who are you, you’re much too young to be tax inspectors.”

“We’re not here to discuss your taxes, the only reason I’m here is because you cast a spell on Arthur Pendragon. You do remember your friend Ygraine Pendragon?”

For a second, Merlin was convinced she was going to flee, but all she did was turn the sign on the door, indicating that the shop was officially closed. So she wasn’t going to kick them out, interesting.

“It can’t possibly be you,” Nimueh gasped. “It’s just not possible.”

“Why can’t it be him?” Will pressed. “Exactly who were you expecting to turn up on your doorstep after all these years?”

“Alright, I’ll make us some tea upstairs in my apartment,” Nimueh said nervously. She was clearly trying really hard not to freak out. That couldn’t be a very good sign, Merlin clearly wasn’t living up to her expectations.

Her hands were shaking when she was busy making tea, but eventually they all sat down with their cup in her not too fancy looking apartment. It was hard to believe she used to be friends with royalty, she seemed much more like the hippie type.

“Ok, I’ll explain everything to you,” Nimueh started saying, “and I think you’ll understand my reaction when I’ve finished. To start at the beginning, Ygraine Pendragon was my best friend in the entire world. I loved her so much and I would have done anything to help her.”

While she took another sip of her tea, Merlin was trying to figure out where on earth she was going with this.

“I’ve always been interested in magic hence the store, but I’m not really a witch. At least not anymore. When Ygraine married Uther, we went to a fortune teller. Just for fun or so we thought. The fortune teller told Ygraine that she would live a very happy but also a very short life. I told her not to listen her, that this woman was talking nonsense. Unfortunately, I was proven wrong.  Ygraine did believe her so when she was pregnant with Arthur she became determined to protect him after she was gone.”

“That’s when she started her collection of magic books,” Merlin filled in.

“Yes, I think she raided this shop at least once a week. She tried to get her hands on every book she could find. And then she finally found the spell she was looking for: a guardian spell.”

“Ok, isn’t Merlin a bit too young to be someone’s guardian?” Will asked.

“Exactly why I was so surprised to meet you,” she answered, “I wasn’t expecting to meet a teenager.”

“Actually, I’m not a teenager,” Merlin tried to explain. “I’m really twenty years old, well until the day I woke up in my seventeen-year-old body. Not only that, but my mother used to be a nurse and Gaius, our common acquaintance, used to be a vet and now he’s a people doctor. And I just happen to live at the palace.”

Nimueh was starting to turn very pale. “Fuck, this is the opposite of what was supposed to happen. The magic modified your life to turn you into the perfect guardian. You didn’t wake up in your seventeen-year-old body, you are seventeen.”

Merlin was speechless so Will took back the lead. “You’re saying that there is no going back for Merlin, his future has been erased.”

“It is tied to Arthur from now on, I’m assuming the reason you’re here is because something happens to him in the near future.”

Merlin nodded, that seemed to be enough for Nimueh and she continued, “The guardian spell ends when it has fulfilled its purpose but that just means you are no longer bound together. Your ‘old’ life has been erased. The magic took you out of your own time to fit into Arthur’s. It was meant to put you in the perfect position to guard him, that’s why you’re living in the palace when you weren’t before. The spell let you keep your memories so that you could succeed in guarding him.”

“What if we get through all of this and Arthur gets hit by a bus the next week,” Will chimed in. “Then what’s the point of using magic in the first place?”

“The spell only works on children, Prince Arthur is still only seventeen. All Ygraine ever wanted was for her child to at least have a happy childhood,” Nimueh said, she seemed to get caught up in her memories.

“I will do everything I can to protect him,” Merlin promised her. “Everything.”

*

Merlin didn’t want to put Nimueh through even more anguish and went back home with Will.

Will was very worried about him. “I don’t think I should leave you alone right now, you’ve just received some seriously life-changing news.”

“Thanks but I really need to be alone for a while. I just need to deal with this.”

Will hugged him. “Call me when you need anything, I mean it.”

“I promise,” Merlin said, even though you’re not allowed to make promises you’re not planning on keeping.

All he wanted was to sleep for a very, very long time. Maybe things would be better tomorrow.

*

Merlin’s day got off to a really bad start when he received a call from Lance, very politely informing him that he was now dating Gwen. Since he was already dating Arthur himself, Merlin could hardly be mad about that. Gwen and Lance, it was probably destiny anyway.

And if he had learned one thing, it was that you couldn’t fight destiny. Arthur was _his_ destiny, it was time to fight for him. Once that dreaded day was over, maybe he could actually start focusing on the fact that he was dating a freaking prince. Something he had somehow managed to ignore up until now, since he always had much bigger problems to worry about. Like trying to survive for instance.

Part of him was still wondering why he of all people was chosen for Prince Arthur. There was nothing remotely special about him and yet it seemed that they were connected in some way.

Merlin answered all of Will’s five messages and finally got out of bed, it was time to face the music. Like every morning, he had breakfast with his mum who lectured him on what to do today and informed him yet again that they really needed to spend more time together. She still hadn’t forgiven that she had to find out about him and Arthur through the rumour mill.

Apparently, the King had also requested a private conversation with her to discuss their sons. She had already told him about it in excruciating detail so Merlin spent most of his time nodding. Although he was glad he had his mum with him, it was nice to have at least some consistency. Merlin never thought that he would ever come to love his mother’s nagging.

He received yet another text from Will, he ignored this one. What more was there to say? It was July 29th, Arthur was going to die tomorrow and apparently so was he. And still he couldn’t come up with something to occupy Arthur all day. Snogging him for a few hours wasn’t going to do the trick when literally anything could be a potential threat.

There was still one option left: tell Arthur the truth. But Merlin didn’t think he would ever believe him. Will and Gaius were different, they had known Merlin his entire life, Arthur didn’t. Not to mention that it sounded quite unbelievable that magic had brought Merlin in his life. The most likely outcome was that he dumped him and refused to talk to him any longer. But maybe it was time to take a leap of faith, the universe owed him a miracle.

*

“Merlin, what brings you to my humble abode?” Arthur smiled.

“There is nothing humble about you, Arthur. First of all, I have some good news for you. Lance is officially dating Gwen.”

“That is good news,” Arthur said, “although I know it sucks when your ex moves on so quickly, sorry.”

“It’s not like I haven’t done the same thing. But actually, that’s not the real reason why I’m here, I need to tell you something.”

Arthur frowned. “You look so bloody serious, I’m starting to worry about you. Just tell me already.”

“I don’t even know where to start,” Merlin said.

Arthur gave him an encouraging look. “The beginning is usually a good starting point. And don’t look so worried, unless you want to break up with me again ...”

“No,” Merlin interrupted him, “it’s nothing like that all. What I’m about to tell you, is going to sound completely ridiculous but it’s true. Just try to keep an open mind alright?”

“You’re really starting to scare me.”

“You have no idea how scared I am. Ok, a long time ago your mother was desperate to protect you.”

Arthur wanted to say something when Merlin mentioned his mother. “Just listen, alright? Your mother had this friend called Nimueh, maybe you vaguely recall her. Nimueh is sort of a witch, she knows a lot about magic. Your mother became obsessed with magic when she was pregnant with you, hence all the books in the library. She wanted to find a spell that would protect you after she was gone. Eventually she found a guardian spell, a spell that would protect you as long as you were a child. That guardian is me, I’m the one who is supposed to protect you.”

Arthur looked concerned. “Sweetheart, I think maybe we should call Gaius to come check you out again. Maybe that fall has affected you more than he presumed.”

“Gaius would only confirm what I’m saying, he’s known all along.”

“What does he know?” Arthur asked, humouring him.

“That I am Merlin Emrys, but I’m twenty years old, my mother is a nurse and I work for our old family friend Gaius who is a vet. But then one day I woke up and I was seventeen again, I lived in the palace with my mom and Gaius. The spell put me here to protect you.”

“Protect me from what?” He was starting to sound more and more frustrated.

“You are supposed to die tomorrow,” Merlin explained. “There is this accident and you don’t survive. That was why I was so desperate to keep you inside on July 30th.”

Arthur looked thoughtful, not exactly the reaction Merlin was expecting. “The first time we met, in my bed, you called me a dead person. You seemed surprised that I was still alive.”

“Yes, because as far as I knew you were dead. The magic turned back the clock for me so that I could help you get through tomorrow.”

“I’ve always known you were mad, Merlin. From the first time I saw you, I just knew you would cause me nothing but trouble. And of course it’s impossible for me to believe you, but I’m not going to shout at you to leave. I’m going to prove you wrong, there is no such thing as magic.”

“How are you planning on doing that?”

“By staying inside with you tomorrow, all day. That should end ‘the spell’, right?”

“Yes, it would,” Merlin hurried to say. “Would you do that for me?”

Arthur gently touched his cheek. “I saw how scared you were when you were planning on telling me, all I want is for you to feel safe again. Besides, it’s not exactly a hardship to spend a whole day locked up with my boyfriend.”

Merlin couldn’t help but feel relieved. “So I’m still your boyfriend?”

“I’ve always known you’re weird, that is not exactly shocking news. But I am going to have a serious talk with Gaius and I want to know everything about this Nimueh. Horrible name by the way. Oh and stay here,” Arthur ordered. “I don’t want you to leave this room, I’ll inform your mother that you’re staying with me for a few days.”

Merlin didn’t give a flying fuck that Arthur didn’t believe him, as long as he really didn’t leave his room tomorrow.

*

When Arthur came back, he seemed much moodier. The talk with Gaius must not have gone very well. Merlin couldn’t contain his curiosity, he had been waiting for an hour. “What did he tell you?”

“Apparently, he has been encouraging you with this nonsense. I can’t believe Gaius would do this. I know my mother, she wasn’t like this. She was an incredibly intelligent woman and he claims she believed that there are wizards and witches running around.”

“I don’t think she ever believed that. Just that it wasn’t impossible that once upon time there was such a thing as magic.”

Arthur sighed loudly. “Let’s just stop talking about this, there’s no point, neither of us is going to convince the other. Can we agree to just ban the topic from now on?”

“Agreed,” Merlin said.

Arthur seemed satisfied with that. “Maybe we should invite Morgana up here, I still have to interrogate her about that girl she met last week.”

“She met someone?” Merlin asked.

“Yes, and the best part is that she doesn’t even know Gwen has a boyfriend yet. Hopefully everything works out for her.”

“Well, I’d really like to get to know her better, all I know is that she’s a wonderful dancer.”

“On second thought, I don’t know if it’s such a good idea for the two of you to become best friends,” Arthur said doubtfully. “This could be very dangerous for me.”

They did eventually invite Morgana to Arthur’s room and Gwaine, Leon, Owain, Tristan and Percy. It seemed Arthur was very determined to surround with Merlin with as much people as possible. What Merlin really wanted was to go Nimueh’s bookshop with Arthur, but he knew Arthur would never agree to that.

All he could do was try to get through tomorrow and hope for the best.

He was hoping really hard.

*

It was July 30th and Merlin had never been this scared in his life. He didn’t sleep all night, afraid Arthur would suddenly stop breathing or something. He checked his entire room for any dangerous objects. He really hoped that knife he threw away didn’t carry any sentimental value. Then at last Arthur woke up and greeted him as if he didn’t have a care in the world.

“Good morning,” Merlin said back, although he didn’t really consider anything good about this morning. “What are we going to do now? Stay in bed and play some games?”

“Well, there are other things we could do in this bed.” Arthur winked playfully.

That was the last thing on Merlin’s mind. “Sorry, but that will have to wait until all of this is over.”

“Even though nothing is really happening,” Arthur mumbled.

Merlin sighed loudly. “I don’t want to fight, but could you maybe for one second actually try to believe me?”

“However much I like you, I really can’t. I’m doing what you want, isn’t that enough?”

“You’re right, that’s the most important thing.” Merlin was determined to focus on the positive, although he couldn’t help but add, “I do still think you need to meet Nimueh.”

“I’ll think about it,” was all Arthur managed to say. "Now, since I’m not permitted to leave this bed, I think I’ll sleep a bit longer in it. Wake me when breakfast is served.”

Arthur went back to sleep and Merlin went back to counting the minutes until this wretched day was finally over. Even if he was afraid what would happen when this day really was over. According to Nimueh, the magic wasn’t planning on putting him back where it found him. But she didn’t seem to know everything about the spell she performed, her reaction to Merlin was proof of that. So what if she was wrong? Merlin honestly didn’t want to go back to his empty life, without Arthur. Getting emotionally attached to him was indeed quite stupid, but Merlin couldn’t imagine changing a thing about it if he could. Arthur’s mother had send him here to protect her son and that was exactly what he was planning on doing.

Since Arthur was sleeping, Merlin thought it was safe to send another text to Nimueh, asking her if there was anything else she knew about the spell. Anything to help Merlin stop this. And apparently she didn’t, crap.

Merlin went back to being creepy and checked Arthur’s breathing again. Unfortunately for him, his subject woke up this time. “Merlin, are you seriously checking if I’m still breathing? I am really starting to worry about you.”

“I’m sorry alright, but you read it in the papers sometimes,” Merlin defended himself. He was _very_ aware of his own creepiness. “How completely healthy people go to sleep and never wake up. I just want to make sure that you’re not one of them.”

“How did it happen?” Arthur asked, sounding very interested. “How did I die, in your ‘timeline’?”

“It was an accident,” Merlin replied hesitantly. “A car accident, that’s why I was so desperate to keep you inside.”

“Wow, that is a stupid way to die. A prince used to die in sword fights, and all I get is a car accident. It’s just so ordinary.”

Merlin hit him with a pillow. “You shouldn’t make jokes about this, it’s really serious. Besides, most accidents happen inside your own home. That’s why you’re not leaving this bed.”

“What would you have done if I’d just gone on that holiday, without you.”

“Go after you. I don’t know, I just don’t want to lose you, Arthur,” Merlin admitted. “I can’t lose you.”

“Would you have gone to all this effort for Lance?”

“Oh shut up about Lance already, you talk more about him than I ever did!”

“I’m sorry, I just need to know if you’re as invested in this as I am, our ‘relationship’ I mean.”  Arthur pronounced the word ‘relationship’ as if it was the first time he heard of the concept.

“Our ‘relationship’ is very important to me, in fact it feels more real to me than whatever I had with Lance. I guess that was just good friends confusing friendship with love. With you, it’s very different.”

“Trust me, I’ve never met anyone like you either,” Arthur said very seriously. “Although maybe that’s rather fortunate.”

Arthur got hit by a pillow again.

*

Around noon, Arthur and Merlin had lunch, Merlin first checked if Arthur wasn’t allergic to anything which earned him an impressive eye roll. But lunch didn’t kill Arthur either, even Merlin was starting to think he was being a bit paranoid.

That was until they received the phone call, Princess Morgana was in the hospital. She fainted and was currently undergoing tests. The minute Arthur heard the news, he jumped out of bed and put on his pants.

“You can’t go,” Merlin begged. “Please don’t go.”

“I have to go,” Arthur said. “This is my sister we’re talking about, I can’t just leave her there alone.”

“She’s not alone,” Merlin argued. “Your father is there, it’s probably not even serious, you can wait until tomorrow to visit her.”

“Merlin!” Arthur shouted. “I really do love you, but this is my sister, I cannot abandon her.”

“You love me?” Merlin muttered.

“Shit, I didn’t.. I know it’s slightly ridiculous. We’ll talk about this later.”

“No, wait! I’m coming with you, I’m not abandoning you either.” Merlin followed Arthur’s example and quickly put on some clothes. “We should take a taxi, not your usual car.”

“Do you want me to use the tube or something?”

“Could you?” Merlin asked, not disguising the hope in his voice.

“You know what, I will. It might even be quicker, let’s just hope I don’t get mugged and stabbed. All that hard work for nothing.”

Merlin didn’t find the constant jokes very amusing but he shut his mouth. The important thing was that Arthur still wasn’t getting into a car, even if he was going into traffic.

Surprisingly, it turned out that this wouldn’t be the first time the crown prince used public transport. His security guard had used it as a diversion tactic on other occasions which really came in handy. The woman in charge of Arthur’s security was called Elena, she seemed very nice but Arthur informed him that looks were quite deceiving in this case.

“Ok, I do not agree with this plan in the slightest, unfortunately it’s hard to argue with the crown prince,” Elena said. The disdain in her voice was clear, Merlin was starting to understand Arthur’s warning.

She turned to Arthur and said, “Any other occasion and I would have called the King to inform him about your wacky plan, but I don’t want to put my boss through any more grief. Let’s make one thing clear, you do exactly as I say or I’ll make sure Princess Morgana gets on that throne.”

Now Merlin really was scared of her. Arthur showed no visible reaction, but Merlin felt pretty confident he received the message. He only wished he had met Elena earlier, he felt a lot safer already.

So that was how Arthur, Merlin, Elena and six other security agents took the tube. They were the only passengers, Merlin wasn’t aware you could make a reservation. Under any other circumstances, it would have been quite exciting. If they survived this day, Merlin would totally suggest a repeat.

“I’ve just received a text from my father,” Arthur said. “Apparently, Morgana is doing much better already, but they still don’t know what’s wrong with her.”

“It could be nothing,” Merlin suggested hopefully. “I’m sure she’ll be fine, she’s a Pendragon after all.”

“Yes, she is. I just can’t lose any more family. Ever since my mum died...”

Merlin couldn’t stand looking at his sad face any longer and gave him a tight hug. Elena’s eyebrows were raised, their not so secret relationship officially turned into an ordinary one.

It was a relief when they finally reached the hospital, because of his creepy good disguise no one was paying any attention to Arthur. Morgana seemed to think his disguise was hilarious. “Arthur, I can’t believe you’re wearing a ginger wig and beard. Has Elena lost her mind?”

“Stop laughing, this is the most effective disguise I’ve ever worn. No one paid any attention to me, it was very relaxing.”

“I’d look away too if I saw your ugly face,” she joked. “Besides, you shouldn’t have gone to all that trouble for me. I feel perfectly fine again. Dad just panicked, even though Gaius told him it was just a bug.”

“Well we can’t take any chances when it comes to the second in line for the throne.”

“Whatever,” she shrugged. “I have better things to do, I’m sure you can adopt very cute babies with Merlin.”

“Um, what,” Merlin managed to say. “I think you’re getting ahead of yourself.”

“Are you saying I should stop filling in the adoption forms?” Arthur asked innocently.

“Of course brother, you have to get married first. You turn eighteen next week, so you don’t have to wait that long.”

“I hate you both,” Merlin muttered.

The Pendragons started laughing at Merlin’s expense. Since it was already 2 pm, Merlin thought it was safe to start laughing a bit as well.

*

Merlin wanted to stay in Morgana’s room for the rest of the day, but she got a bit tired after listening to one of Arthur’s Ibiza stories (seriously, how many did he have?), so they went back to the palace. Merlin also felt a bit relieved that they hadn’t bumped into King Uther, he wasn’t quite ready for that particular meeting.

When they got back to the palace, it was 5 pm. Merlin hoped he would never have to check the time this much ever again. Part of him was wondering if he shouldn’t go see his mum, but saying goodbye sounded terrifying. Not to mention unnecessary, since nothing was going to happen to Arthur.

“I’m pretty sure time won’t go faster, just because you obsessively check your watch,” Arthur said.

“I know, I just can’t wait for this day to be over.”

“Well, a day spent in my company can never be a waste,” Arthur proclaimed.

“Your ego is seriously out of control,” Merlin observed. “When all of this is over, I am going to work on that.”

“I look forward to it,” Arthur said.

Their conversation was disturbed by a visit from Gaius. “Hello, boys. Everything alright?”

“Perfectly fine,” Arthur replied, sounding quite hostile. He really didn’t believe anything Gaius told him.

“That’s good news,” Gaius said, his face looked rather pained. Arthur’s rejection was obviously quite hurtful to him. Merlin felt horrible about the fact that he caused a rift between them.

“It’s very nice of you to stop by,” Merlin added, to ease some of the tension in the room. “Only a couple of more hours to go, well seven to be exact. I think everything is going to be alright, Gaius.”

“I really hope so, because I want you both to be safe.” Then quietly said, “I should go.” He obviously noticed the fact that Arthur was determined to ignore him.

After Gaius left, Merlin turned to Arthur and asked, “Was that really necessary? He really cares about you, alright. He just wants to protect you, just like me.”

“He should have never encouraged you with this magic shit,” Arthur said stubbornly. “He’s too old to still believe in silly things like sorcery.”

“I really don’t get you,” Merlin said, confused. “You’re mad at Gaius for believing in my theory and yet you still go along with it.”

Arthur glared at him. “Like I said, I’m proving to you that this is bullshit.”

“But if we both survive tomorrow, then you’ve proven my point.”

“Just because I live to see another day, doesn’t mean that your spell was effective,” he argued.  “So I guess, neither of one us will have ever insurmountable proof.”

“Unless we go meet Nimueh,” Merlin countered.

“Just give it a rest,” he sighed. “I don’t want to see that woman even if she did know my mother. I can’t keep living in the past. I need to start planning my future.”

“What does your future look like?”

“Well, I’m planning on going to Cambridge. Not that it really matters, cause I’m pretty sure I have job security. What about you, what are your plans?”

“You’ll never believe this, but I was actually planning on going to Cambridge. At least the previous Merlin did, my mum has already given me many lectures about it.”

Arthur’s face showed how confused he was. “So you’re saying that this ‘other version’ didn’t go to Cambridge.”

“No, I worked as Gaius’ assistant, he was a vet. Although... I haven’t even told this to Will, but my previous memories are starting to fade. Like it was all a dream.”

“That’s because it was never real in the first place,” Arthur insisted. “This is the real world, the one where you belong. Not the one where Gaius is a vet and you didn’t go study with your handsome boyfriend.”

“Seriously, how do you manage to turn everything in another opportunity to talk about yourself?”

“Pfft, according to you, your entire destiny depends on me. So obviously your world resolves around me, which I can only encourage.” Now Arthur was the one to hug Merlin. “Trust me, I’m not letting you escape my world.”

“You do realize how weird that sounds,” Merlin retorted.

“I don’t care, I’m serious. My dad once told me that the minute he saw my mother, he just knew she was the one. Same goes for me,” Arthur confessed.

“But you basically called me an axe murderer when we met,” Merlin protested. “Which was barely a month ago. No one can possibly know that soon, seriously a month ago I was still convinced I was in love with Lance.”

“And now you’re in love with me, aren’t you?” Arthur asked, seeking for validation.

“Of course I love you, clotpole. Even if you are a prince.”

“You don’t sound too excited about that,” he remarked.

“Well, it’s just that I never imagined myself becoming paparazzi bait, it’s going to be slightly weird.”

“Yes, I guess we’ll have to check how photogenic you are, I don’t want to be embarrassed.”

“Clotpole,” Merlin repeated. “But you’re my clotpole,” he added and kissed his boyfriend.

*

“Would you look at that?” Arthur whispered. “It’s nearly midnight and absolutely nothing happened.

“I know,” Merlin said, feeling awfully relieved. “Apparently trusting you was the right choice after all. Even if you’ll never believe me.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll reward you anyway.”

“How are you going to reward me?”

“By doing this,” Arthur replied, his hand was wandering downwards.

Very reluctantly, Merlin pushed it away. “Not yet, I need to be sure first.”

“Seriously, Merlin, no one has ever died from giving a handjob.”

“Then I’ll just have to make sure you’re not the first. Now that is a stupid way to go.”

“You must be joking,” Arthur said astonished. “Prince Arthur died in the throes of passion, that sounds amazing to me.”

“Yes, when you’re about seventy, not seventeen.”

“Haha, isn’t that a hole in your whole guardian spell theory. I’ve still got a week left as a minor.”

“No, according to Nimueh, the spell only starts working when there is one important event that needs to be changed,” Merlin explained. “So the minute the clock strikes midnight, the spell is over and I’m no longer your guardian and this will become my timeline.”

“Well there are only ten seconds left, any last thoughts?”

“Yes, your mother was an amazing woman.”

“I agree,” Arthur said. “Would you look at that, it’s midnight.”

“Ok, does that mean we can go to sleep now,” Merlin replied. “I’m really tired all of the sudden.”

“You’re right, I can’t even remember why we stayed up this late. Especially since I want to visit Morgana in the morning.”

They fell asleep before Merlin managed to check his phone, otherwise Merlin might have seen Nimueh’s last text: ‘The spell doesn’t leave a trace.’

Of course when he checked his phone the next morning, there were no new messages.

*


	5. Chapter 5

“Seriously Arthur, I will smack you if you don’t stop taking unflattering pictures of me,” Merlin said, very annoyed by his boyfriend’s antics.

Morgana giggled. “I think you look rather lovely, Merlin. Although you will have to work on that smile or people are going to think you secretly hate Arthur. By the way, how good are you at waving?”

“How hard can it be to wave,” Merlin exclaimed.

Morgana and Arthur exchanged matching grins. “I think Vivian will be able to explain you everything about the power of hand waving,” Morgana informed him gleefully.

“You’re starting to scare me. I’m sure Princess Mithian would be able to teach me a thing or two.”

“How do you know about Mithian?” Morgana asked, clearly shocked. “Arthur, you’re such a gossip, I should be the one to smack you. And unfortunately for you, I’m going to be released in a few hours.”

“He’d find out soon anyway,” Arthur shrugged. “You can’t keep in a secret in the palace. Which reminds me that dad is really insisting on that dinner with you,” he said to Merlin.

“Even though he already knows every single detail about my life. I’m really not that interesting.”

“That’s not true,” Arthur said, “there is definitely something magical about you.”

Merlin turned to Morgana. “Have you ever noticed how silly your brother is?”

“Yes, it has come to my attention,” Morgana said seriously. “But I’m afraid there is nothing we can do to help him.”

Now Merlin and Morgana were the ones laughing at Arthur’s expense.

“I knew it was dangerous for the two of you to get close. I should have put a stop to this.”

*

“It still feels like we forget something,” Merlin said. “Something important.”

“For the last time, we’ve got all the essentials. Condoms and lube. Not that I’m not open for experimenting, but I thought we should save the cuffs for next time.”

“You’ll have to wait a bit longer than that,” Merlin warned him. “Sorry, I guess I’m just a bit nervous. I’ve only done this with Lance, you have loads more experience.”

“I haven’t got that much experience,” Arthur protested. “Actually, you’re only the third boy that has been in this bed. And the last of course,” he added.

“You’re such a romantic.”

“I’m very inspired,” Arthur said. “Now I think that was enough talking, take off your pants.”

“Yes, sir.”

“You don’t even realize how much of a turn-on that is,” Arthur managed to say. “Now that is a pretty cock.”

“How can a cock be pretty?”

“I don’t know, but yours manages it. You must be proud. Now it’s time to figure out if looks are deceiving.”

Merlin moaned loudly. “Fuck, Arthur, give a bit of warning.”

“Are you actually complaining right now? The crown prince is currently sucking your cock, this is not the time for talking.”

Merlin couldn’t disagree with that argument and went back to moaning. Apparently Arthur was the one who could perform magic.

*

Merlin still didn’t know how he ended up on a yacht with his boyfriend, Will and his mother. Not that he was exactly complaining of course.

Unfortunately for him, not even Vivian could help him look good in the paparazzi pictures. Fortunately, the public seemed to like him, there were even teenagers wearing shirts ‘Merlin and Arthur forever.’ Merlin was secretly pleased about that, their approval was kind of comforting. They would have to face enough challenges anyway.

“What are you worrying about now?” Will asked.

“I’m not worrying, just thinking, there’s a difference.”

“I know your facial expressions,” Will told him, “that’s your worried one.”

“I guess I can still surprise you, even after all these years.”

“Please, you’re dreadfully boring. Nothing exciting ever happens to you, except for the whole Prince Arthur thing of course,” he conceded.

“Yes, except that. Well I guess that means the responsibility remains firmly on your shoulders to entertain me with you adventures when you visit me at Cambridge.”

“That won’t be a problem,” he said confidently.

“Will, stop monopolizing my boyfriend, it cuts into my sex life.”

“Eww, I do not need to hear anything about your sex life,” Will shivered.

Arthur looked smug, Merlin had to admit it suited him. “So then I guess you don’t want to hear how I’m planning on fucking my boyfriend on this very couch.”

Will looked traumatized. “I’ll just wear my headphones, we all do.”

“That was mean,” Merlin admonished his boyfriend. “Not to mention embarrassing, I keep having flashbacks of your father walking in on us.”

“We were just kissing.”

“That was enough, I’ll be glad when we get to school and have our own room. And no parents.”

“That does sound very tempting,” Arthur agreed. “And the press should leave us alone since we agreed to that photoshoot and revealing interview.”

“Don’t remind me,” he whined. “Ah, the burdens of being your boyfriend.”

“I’m confident the positives far outweigh the negatives.”

“Me too,” Merlin grinned. “This is going to sound like some horrible cliché, but it’s hard to remember a time when I didn’t know you.”

“Trust me, nothing important happened before you met me.”

“Ah yes, I do still have to work on that ego.”

“There is nothing wrong with my ego or anything else about me. Let me prove it,” Arthur said and he took off his swimming trunks.

“Yes, there is definitely nothing wrong with you,” Merlin concurred.

*

Every time the King’s Consort was asked about their first meeting, Merlin said the same thing: it was faith that brought them together. Although privately he did wonder how on earth he ended up in Arthur’s bed.

All he knew for sure was that they definitely used to sleep a lot longer in it. Until their children decided that there was nothing more fun than jumping wildly on their parent’s bed at eight in the morning. Not that he blamed them, it was an amazing bed.

 

THE END


End file.
